The Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh [(Artsakh)] continued to create favorable conditions for the return of refugees, carried out demining, search for missing servicemen and the bodies of the dead. This was stated at a briefing Friday by Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

According to her, a humanitarian response center has been set up in Karabakh. "Profile departments of Azerbaijan and Armenia have joined this work. The first consignments of humanitarian cargo were also sent. Along the lines of the Russian Foreign Ministry, we have mobilized international assistance.

Besides, we instruct the parties not to politicize the humanitarian dossier, to start work immediately," 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.