Russia ‘Doing Everything’ to End Fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh

Moscow is doing everything in its power to put an end to the armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh as soon as possible, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with representatives of religious organizations on Wednesday.

Putin said that a halt to hostilities will save the lives of people “who stand opposite each other and, unfortunately, still see each other through rifle sights.”

“They are using weapons against each other to achieve goals that, in our deep conviction, could be achieved through a negotiation process,” the Russian leader said.

Putin again stressed that Russia stays in contact with both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“I hope that we will be able to achieve a result on the basis that would suit all people living in the region, and achieve it by peaceful means,” Putin added.

As the Kremlin reported earlier this week, Putin had separate telephone conversations with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on November 1 and 2, respectively. It said the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh was discussed during the phone calls. But Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko cautioned on Tuesday that it was yet too early to speak about a possible meeting between the two South Caucasus leaders.