Sending Russian peacekeepers to the Nagorno-Karabakh [(Artsakh)] conflict zone was an extreme measure due to the fact that the parties [to the conflict] could not agree on a ceasefire. This opinion was expressed by Leonid Kalashnikov—Chairman of the Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots of the Russian State Duma—in an interview with TASS on Tuesday.

"I think that no one, of course, wants to put his people, the citizens of his country at risk. No country deploys peacekeeping troops with special joy. In this situation, we [Russia] took this step out of urgency because Armenia and Azerbaijan cannot come to an agreement. We see that the case is already leading to unpredictable coincidences," the Russian MP said.

Kalashnikov stressed that these Russian peacekeepers are deployed with the consent of both Yerevan and Baku. "Because otherwise, we would have been provoked by both this and that side. Now this line [demarcation] will be determined, more or less some mutual relations will be established on the issue of the ceasefire—as to how to adhere to it. But this is better than the death of people," the Russian lawmaker stressed.