The aim of all our efforts is to create conditions for rebirth of the region. This is what President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin declared in the beginning of the meeting with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in Sochi.

“A lot has been done in this period, but unfortunately, not all the issues have been resolved. I am aware of the tragic incidents that took place on the border, killing and injuring people of both sides. We have gathered to avoid such incidents in the future. Overall, a lot has been done over the past year. First, there are no large-scale hostilities, and this is good. A lot of work has been done for the return of refugees (53,000 people have already returned to their places of residence). The Russian peacekeeping contingent is working effectively to ensure people’s security, and the Russian-Turkish ceasefire monitoring center is operating.

The important thing is that conditions are being created for normal and peaceful life in the future. There is a trilateral commission at the level of Deputy Prime Ministers. It’s not easy, but there is progress, and there are grounds to assume that in the near future we will be able to not only approve the work of the group for the unblocking of transport links, but also make the necessary decisions. All this needs to have a favorable impact on the living standard of the citizens of both countries. This is of great significance for Russia, taking into consideration the special nature of relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Putin said.