Russia initially talked about the possibility of transferring "five and two more" regions occupied by Armenia to Azerbaijan, President Vladimir Putin said at a plenary meeting of the VTB Capital investment forum "Russia is Calling!"

"We initially proceeded from the fact that we need to say, our position is absolutely open, about the possibility of transferring five plus two regions to Azerbaijan with the provision of a certain regime of the Karabakh zone, interaction with Armenia, and so on," he said.

He recalled that the conflict began with ethnic clashes, and the leadership of the Soviet Union did not take any effective measures to ensure the safety of people.

“The Armenians took up arms and did it themselves. Good or bad, but initially these negative events on ethnic grounds were the message for their actions. This led to the fact that Nagorno-Karabakh itself, and seven more regions of Azerbaijan, fell under the control of Armenia. Is it good or not?" said Putin.

"And what is Azerbaijan talking about? That, in any case, the seven regions have nothing to do with either the ethnic conflict or Armenia. These are primordially Azerbaijani territories. Azerbaijan says: we have the right to return these territories." Each has its own truth. There are no simple solutions, because the knot is tied very hard," the President added.

He sees a long-term settlement of the conflict in "finding a balance of interests that would suit both sides - both the Azerbaijani people, to whom we treat with constant respect, and the interests of the Armenian people would be taken into account."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Source - Turan 

30 October 2020 / 11:05