President Vladimir Putin of Russia reaffirmed Moscow’s willingness to assist in an Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process during a telephone conversation Friday with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who, according to the Kremlin, initiated the call.
Pashinyan announced to the Russian leader that the text of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan has been completed and approved and voiced Yerevan’s readiness to sign the document, the Kremlin said in a readout of the call.
Putin emphasized that Russia has always supported and continues to support the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations in the interests of security, stability, and sustainable socioeconomic development in the South Caucasus, the Kremlin statement said.
“To achieve these goals, both Armenia and Azerbaijan can always count on any possible assistance from the Russian side,” Putin added, according to the readout.
The foreign ministries of Armenia and Azerbaijan announced Thursday that the two remaining contentious points in the language of the draft treaty were finalized and now the sides must negotiate the time and venue of the signing of the document.
According to the Kremlin, Pashinyan also confirmed that he has accepted an invitation by the Russian president and “will attend the anniversary events to be held in Moscow on May 9—and dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War.”
