While speaking at the "Valdai" forum on October 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia does not dictate to Armenia in the peace treaty with Azerbaijan and added that the choice of option for the peace agreement is at Armenia's discretion. But he stressed that the proposal from Washington reflects Azerbaijan's sovereignty over [the unrecognized Nagorno-] Karabakh.
"If the Armenian people or the leadership of Armenia believe that the Washington version of the peace agreement, which provides for the recognition of Azerbaijan's sovereignty over Karabakh as a whole, should be chosen, then they can. If the Armenian leadership believes that Karabakh has its characteristics and these characteristics should be considered and discussed in the future peace agreement, this is also possible. But, of course, it is necessary to agree with Azerbaijan. These agreements must be acceptable to the other party - Azerbaijan," Vladimir Putin added. He said that Russia has been holding a dialogue with Armenia for many years to solve the issue of Karabakh.
Vladimir Putin said that Russia supports the idea of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan but does not intend to dictate to Yerevan. The Russian President touched on the peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which is expected to be signed by the end of the year: "Our position is that this peace agreement is, of course, necessary, and we are in favor of a peaceful settlement, as well as the delimitation of the border and the full resolution of the border issue. The question is, which option should be chosen? It is for Armenia, the Armenian people, and the leadership of Armenia. It is his own business." According to him, Russia welcomes any option that will lead to peace.
According to Putin, Moscow previously proposed that Yerevan retain control over two of the seven large districts (to maintain connection with Nagorno-Karabakh) and relinquish control of the remaining five smaller districts. "They were unnecessary to maintain control over those regions, and the rest did not make any sense. They were empty: all the inhabitants had already fled, de facto expelled from those areas. Why were they clinging to them? It made no sense," Vladimir Putin stated. Vladimir Putin added, "But the Armenian leadership decided to go its way. As it is known, this brought us to the current situation." Putin said that he considers it fair to allow the refugees to return, and it would be a good step towards the normalization of the situation in the region in general.
