President Vladimir Putin Congratulates Nikol Pashinyan on Election Victory

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday to congratulate him on his party’s victory in the Armenian parliamentary elections and discuss Russian-backed plans to restore transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The Kremlin reported that Putin “emphasized the importance of consistent implementation” of the Russian-brokered agreement that stopped the war in Nagorno-Karabakh and follow-up understandings reached by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in January.

“The Russian side will continue active mediation efforts to ensure stability in the region,” it said in a statement.

The Armenian government also said the two men discussed the implementation of those agreements. In that context, it said, Pashinyan stressed the need for the release of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians still held in Azerbaijan.

Putin spoke with Pashinyan one day after his phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. According to a Kremlin statement, the call took place “at the initiative of the Azerbaijani side” and touched upon “practical aspects of the realization of the agreements” reached by Aliyev, Pashinyan and Putin.

“Special attention was paid to intensifying work in a trilateral format on the restoration of economic links and transport routes in the South Caucasus,” added the statement.