Putin Brokers ‘Peace Through Economic Development’ with Both Caucasus Leaders in Moscow
Jan. 12 , 2021 (EIRNS)—Meeting together in Moscow with both Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian President Vladimir Putin has brokered a peace through economic development that aims to consolidate the gains achieved by a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. TASS observed that this was were Putin’s first international meeting of 2021 and his first in-person meeting with foreign leaders in two months.
“We were able to come to an agreement ... on the development of the situation in the region,” Putin told reporters after four the hours of talks among the three leaders. Putin said:
“I mean concrete steps to build economic ties and develop infrastructure projects. For this purpose, a working group will be created which will be headed by the vice-premiers of three governments—Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia. In the near future, they will create working expert subgroups, [and] present concrete plans for the development of transport infrastructure and the region’s economy. I am confident that the implementation of these agreements will benefit both the Armenian and Azerbaijani people and, without any doubt, will benefit the region as a whole.”
Putin also said that the ceasefire agreement signed on Nov. 9-10, 2020 is being fulfilled with Russian peacekeepers carrying out their designated responsibilities.
For his part Aliyev said,
“I also share your opinion that this meeting was very important for ensuring the further sustainable and safe development of our region. The statement that was signed today reflects our intentions, because one of the items in the statement following the cessation of hostilities was on the unblocking of transport connections,” he said, referring to removing all the previous obstacles that hindered transportation connections.
“This is an important area that will help us achieve the dynamics to resume the region’s development and enhance security, and the opening of transport links meets the interests of the people of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia and our other neighbors. I am sure that the neighboring countries will also join our efforts to resume transport corridors and develop a diverse network of transport arteries in our region,”
he said.
Aliyev continued: “All this creates the confidence that, as President Putin said, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will remain in the past and that we must think about the future – how to live next to each other, how to strive for unblocking transport arteries and enhancing regional stability and security in the future.”
For his part, Pashinyan said the joint declaration was very important for the development of Nagorno-Karabakh, the status of which is still under negotiations within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group.
“I can say that the Statement we signed today is very important indeed. I will say that the implementation of the agreements in this Statement could change the economic profile of our region and that the economic changes could produce even more reliable security guarantees. We will certainly work constructively to this end, but, as I said, unfortunately, it is impossible to resolve all the problems at one meeting,”
he declared.
The transcript of the three leaders’ remarks to the media is posted to the Kremlin website.
Furthermore, the agreement can further enhance the International North South Transportation Corridor, which is being developed among Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, and India, beginning in St. Petersburg and ends in Mumbai, passing through the North and South Caucasus.
