Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed concern to Azerbaijani President Aliyev during their meeting over the escalation of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, RIA Novosti reports.
“We are all concerned about the escalation of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. We have spoken about this. Yesterday I spoke with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan; I have informed you about this. It is good that through coordinated efforts it was possible to halt the escalation, but, as I understand, the situation continues to remain tense. I am glad for this meeting, as it is an opportunity to discuss all these issues,” Putin said.
Ilham Aliyev said that Yerevan and Baku had no intention of a large-scale escalation. “I want to thank you for responding to the border escalation. The clashes lasted less than eight hours; they were halted, although the Armenian side did not initially observe the ceasefire, but overall it has been maintained for about two days now. This shows that neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan had the intention of a large-scale escalation. Unfortunately, border conflicts do occur. They cause numerous casualties on both sides. But the important thing is that we managed to stabilise the situation and steer it into a peaceful channel.”
