VIDEO: We Are in a De Facto Crisis Situation on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Border, Says Pashinyan

During a trilateral meeting in Sochi with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasized the personal involvement of President Putin and the role of Russia in halting military operations.

“It is clear that Russia and Russian peacekeepers play a key role in establishing peace in Nagorno-Karabakh and stabilizing the situation in the region. However, I must note that the situation is not as stable as we would like it to be,” Pashinyan stated, adding that since November of last year, dozens of individuals have lost their lives from both sides.

Pashinyan highlighted that incidents have occurred both in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the borders of Armenia. “Since May 12 of this year, we are in a de facto crisis situation on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Our assessment is that Azerbaijani troops have invaded Armenian sovereign territory. The border between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not clearly defined, but there is a state border, and that is the Armenian autonomous territory,” said Pashinyan.

It is worth mentioning that prior to the trilateral meeting, Putin had a private conversation with Aliyev. Pashinyan and Aliyev agreed to meet again on December 15 in Brussels during the EU Eastern Partnership summit. The previous meeting between Pashinyan and Aliyev (with Putin's participation) took place in Moscow on January 11 of this year. Following nearly four hours of negotiations, a second trilateral statement was adopted, primarily concerning the implementation of point 9 of the November 9, 2020 statement, which relates to unblocking all economic and transport links in the region.