Putin expects situation in Karabakh to take peaceful course

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that he expects that the situation in the Karabakh region will take a peaceful course.

Speaking at a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in St. Petersburg, Putin said Russia is in "close contact with all sides."

"We are in very close contact with all parties to the conflict and the authorities in Yerevan, Stepanakert and Baku. I hope that we will be able to achieve de-escalation and transfer the solution of this problem to a peaceful course," he noted.

Azerbaijan said on Tuesday that it had launched "counter-terrorism" measures in Karabakh to uphold provisions outlined in a trilateral peace agreement with Russia and Armenia to end the 2020 conflict.

On Wednesday morning, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said under the agreement achieved with the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent it decided to halt the operations.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages and settlements from Armenian occupation during 44 days of clashes. The war ended with a Russia-brokered cease-fire.

- Putin confirms his visit to China in October

Putin said he has accepted Chinese President Xi Jinping's invitation to visit China in October to participate in the One Belt, One Road forum.

He stressed that this initiative fully corresponds to the interests of Russia and China, and "integrates our ideas of creating a large Eurasian space."

The Russian president said that a visit of the Chinese leader to Russia earlier this year gave a good impetus to the development of trade, economic and humanitarian ties.

"In the first months of this year, the trade turnover exceeded $120 billion. And we have every reason to hope that, in any case, we will approach the figure of 200 billion," he said.

For his part, Wang said: "Russia and China, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, strive for peace and development. We have an important responsibility on our shoulders."

"The modern world is experiencing tectonic shifts, in the face of a changing turbulent international situation, the process of multipolarity of the world is unfolding at an accelerated pace, and there is a tendency of anti-globalization," he said.

"No matter how the international situation changes, China is ready to continue to strengthen mutual trust and business cooperation with the Russian side, strengthen coordination in the international arena, jointly protect common interests, and promote international justice," the Chinese minister said.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) billed as recreating the ancient Silk Road to boost global trade infrastructure, was put forward by Xi in 2013 to connect China with the markets of Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.