During the week, the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh [(Artsakh)] continued to stabilize. There were no violations of the ceasefire regime, or provocations against the Russian peacekeeping contingent. This was stated at a briefing Friday by Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
According to her, the requirements in the trilateral statement signed on November 9 are being implemented without serious incidents. "These positive trends are a strong proof of the accuracy of the line approved by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia, and are currently being practically fully implemented by the parties," Zakharova stressed.
At the same time, she noted, the whole complex of issues arising from the November 9 statement remains in the center of attention of the Russian leadership. "On November 23 and 24, a number of telephone conversations took place between the President of Russia and the President of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia. The modularity of the work of the Russian peacekeepers, the further steps of providing humanitarian aid to the population, and, of course, the measures aimed at the preservation of religious and cultural objects were discussed. These topics were central during the telephone conversations between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his newly appointed Armenian counterpart. A detailed exchange of views on the overall Nagorno-Karabakh issue took place between the President of Russia and the President of Turkey, as well as between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran," Maria Zakharova added.
On November 9, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a joint statement on a complete cessation of hostilities— which Azerbaijan had launched on September 27—in and around Artsakh. Accordingly, Russian peacekeepers are deployed in the region to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire and the cessation of hostilities. But this statement also stipulates the handover of part of Artsakh lands to Azerbaijan.