It all started with the Karabakh issues. Russian President Vladimir Putin told this to reporters after his meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

“You know, I don’t want to dig up the recent past, but didn’t it all start with that [i.e. the Nagorno-Karabakh issue]? We had agreed that we would try not to do this, but you are simply forcing me. Well, never mind, let’s talk about this topic and not dwell on it anymore. It all started with the Karabakh issues.  Armenia’s leadership, the Prime Minister [Nikol Pashinyan] himself, signed the relevant document in Prague and recognized that Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan. From that moment on, our [i.e. Russia’s] position on this issue took on a very dual nature. What? Can we or should we interfere in the domestic political affairs of Azerbaijan?” Putin said.