Tasnim – The Kremlin, in connection with the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, calls on all sides to maximize restraint, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation said.
“At the moment, we call on all parties, primarily the parties to the conflict, to maximum restraint, to abandon military methods of doing business and also to abandon any steps that may provoke further unwanted aggravation of the situation, which is already at the stage of essentially military collisions,” Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday, TASS reported. According to Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin, if necessary, will hold a telephone conversation with the leadership of Azerbaijan.
“If necessary, they (contacts with the leadership of Azerbaijan) will, of course, take place,” the Kremlin spokesman said, answering a question about a possible conversation between Putin and the Azerbaijani side, since the Russian president had a telephone conversation with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan earlier on Sunday.
At the same time, Peskov drew attention to the fact that “from the very first hours after the resumption of hostilities, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov entered into constant contact with his colleagues.”
On September 27, Baku announced an intensive shelling of the positions of the Azerbaijani army from Armenia. In turn, Yerevan announced an offensive by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in the direction of Nagorno-Karabakh and shelling of settlements of the unrecognized republic, including its administrative center Stepanakert. Both sides reported killed and wounded, including civilians. The Armenian authorities imposed martial law and announced the mobilization of reservists. Azerbaijan also decided to introduce martial law throughout the country.
Baku and Yerevan have disputed the ownership of Nagorno-Karabakh since February 1988, when the region announced its secession from the Azerbaijan SSR. During the 1992-1994 armed conflict, Azerbaijan lost control of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.
