Putin, Pashinyan, Aliyev hold talks in Sochi

Marina Kortunova
Press TV, Moscow

A year after stopping the hot phase of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, at the initiative of Vladimir Putin, complex negotiations were held in Sochi on the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

The leader of Armenia, Pashinyan, and the leader of Azerbaijan, Aliyev, attended the talks. Russia is counting on decisions to unblock transport communications in order to create conditions for the revival of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Baku expects to receive a map of the minefields in the territories under their control, sign a peace treaty recognizing the territorial integrity of the country, delimit and demarcate the border, discuss the opening of a corridor to Nakhichevan and the creation of communications in the region.

Pashinyan replied that he did not agree with Aliyev's wording. Armenia wants to return its prisoners and demands the withdrawal of troops from the border territory, which it considers its own. According to him, Baku controls 41 square kilometers of the territory of the neighboring state.

Yerevan says it's not against opening communications to connect Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan, but against "corridors" — in this case, border and customs control points should be on the road, but then the country's sovereignty over the road is incomplete.

Following the meeting, the leaders made a joint statement which says that delimitation and demarcation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be carried out with the assistance of the Russian Federation at the request of the parties.

Last January in Moscow, the parties signed an agreement on the opening of transport links in the South Caucasus. But nothing has changed after almost a year. The situation has been aggravated by the recent fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It will be clear in the near future whether Moscow has a chance to speed up the negotiation process.

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