President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin has declared that the escalation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone has caused the deaths of almost a total of 5,000 people.

He also stated that Russia has always had special ties with both Armenia and Azerbaijan. “There are over 2,000,000 Armenians and nearly 2,000,000 Azerbaijanis living in Russia who have come to the Russian Federation to not only work temporarily, but also to settle. This is why both Armenia and Azerbaijan are equal partners for Russia, and the deaths of people are a great tragedy for us,” he said.