As the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict drags on, there were thousands of refugees and displaced persons on both sides during the long confrontation. Andrey Nastasin, Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), stated this at the weekly press briefing Wednesday, and responding to the remark that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev demands the return of Azerbaijanis to Armenia, calling the latter "Western Azerbaijan," while the Azerbaijani authorities say nothing about the possibility of the return of Armenian refugees—not only to capital Baku and other cities of Azerbaijan, but even to Nagorno-Karabakh.

"Russia consistently advocates for the establishment of a strong, stable peace between Baku and Yerevan. This is what the complex of tripartite agreements at the highest level—which I noted when answering your first question—is aimed at. They envisage a phased solution to the most complicated problems, including those of a social and humanitarian nature, and the start of a dialogue between civil society representatives of the two countries. It is not only about refugees, but also about not allowing the ‘war of monuments’ to continue. This topic was repeatedly touched upon also during previous [press] briefings," added Nastasin.