“Today we have agreed on a joint statement. I must be frank: not everything has been agreed on, some things had to be taken out of the preliminary text drafted by specialists,” Putin said, while opening the formal part of the three-way summit.
This was preceded by their informal conversation, without the press.
Putin said: “Nevertheess, I agree with the general assessment that the meeting was useful, and this creates conditions for further steps towards settling the situation as a whole. When I say ‘as a whole’ I mean both the current events and the events of two years ago (…) Our today’s discussion goes to show that we can agree about the future of all our countries.”
He explained that he was talking about all countries in the region, not just Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, because, “all peoples living on that territory are keen on the normalization of relations.”
“For its part, Russia will do everything for a final and all-embracing settlement to be reached,” he said, thanking Pashinyan and Aliyev “for today’s discussion.”
The three sides have agreed to “maintain contact, to continue with this dialogue, and to continue searching for solutions needed to put a stop to this long-standing conflict,” Putin said.
