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 peace agreement signed by the Kremlin in the South Caucasus.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who on Monday facilitated talks in Moscow between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, said the peace deal that went into effect on November 10 has been implemented with success and leaders have come to the conclusion that “the terms of this agreement are generally respected.”
The parties agreed to take “concrete measures to establish economic links and develop infrastructure projects,” the Russian leader said, adding that a working group of experts from the three nations would design specific plans for the development of the transport infrastructure and the economy of the region, “he said.
According to aid groups, the six-week conflict killed about 5,000 people and forced more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee their homes. Monday’s talks were the first face-to-face talks between Messrs. Aliyev and Pashinyan since fighting ended with the Azerbaijani army crushing Armenian forces and regaining control over the Nagorno-Karabakh strips and surrounding areas. they lost to Armenia three decades ago.
Putin said on Monday that more than 1,100 hectares of land had been cleared of mines, that medical assistance was being provided to the local population and that more than 800 tons of construction material and 1.5 million tons of humanitarian cargo had been delivered to the conflict zone.