Putin Responds to Question on the Ownership of Artsakh

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has stated that from the perspective of international law, Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan's territory, and therefore, Russia had no right to intervene in military operations in the region. The Kremlin leader explained these nuances during a broadcast on the 'Russia-1' television channel.

'Armenia has not recognized the independence and sovereignty of Nagorno-Karabakh. This means that from the standpoint of international law, both Nagorno-Karabakh and all adjacent areas have been and remain an integral part of the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan,' stated Vladimir Putin.

Putin reminded that the CSTO treaty provides for mutual assistance in the case of aggression against the territory of a member state. However, this type of assistance does not extend to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as 'no one has committed aggression against Armenian territory', which meant that Russia had no right to take direct part in military operations.

At the same time, the President emphasized that Moscow has fully met its commitments in the framework of military-technical cooperation with Yerevan, and that 'Armenia has not felt abandoned or forgotten.'