Jan.12 (EIRNS) — Meeting with the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Premier 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.
“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 after the meeting. “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 last Nov. 10 is being fulfilled with Russian peacekeepers carrying out their designated responsibilities.
For his part Aliyev said, “The meeting was very important in order to ensure the further sustainable and safe development of our region,” Aliyev said. “The declaration signed today demonstrates our belief in solving the crisis.”
A key issue in the agreement regards removing all the previous obstacles that hindered transportation connections.
“This field [transportation] can accelerate the development of the region and strengthen its security,” Aliyev stressed, pointing to how all the countries in the region will benefit. “I am sure that neighboring countries will also actively participate in the creation of transport corridors as well as the creation of an extensive network of transport arteries in our region,” he said.
