The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to work together to develop Nagorno-Karabakh after decades of conflict, but failed to resolve several challenges that could hinder the success of a Kremlin-mediated peace agreement in the South Caucasus.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who facilitated talks in Moscow on Monday between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, said the peace agreement, which entered into force on November 10, had been successfully implemented and leaders concluded that “the terms of this agreement are generally respected. ”
The parties agreed to take “concrete steps to build economic links and develop infrastructure projects,” the Russian leader said, adding that a working group of experts from the three nations will devise specific plans for the development of transport infrastructure and of the region ‘s economy, “he said.
The six-week conflict has killed about 5,000 people and forced more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee their homes, according to aid groups. Monday’s talks were the first in-person talks between Aliyev and Pashinyan since fighting ended with the Azerbaijani army overwhelming Armenian forces and regaining control of areas of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding areas that they lost to Armenia three decades ago. .
Mr Putin said on Monday that more than 1,100 acres of land had been cleared by me, residents were receiving medical care and more than 800 tonnes of construction material and 1.5 million tonnes of humanitarian cargo had been delivered to the conflict zone.