Putin: Armenia's PM did not agree to cessation of hostilities with condition of return of Azerbaijani refugees to Shushi with the preservation of control by Armenian forces

The return of refugees, including to Shushi was an obligatory condition for president Ilham Aliyev for cessation of hostilities yet in October, but Armenia considered it inadmissible, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

“On October 19-20 I had series of phone conversations both with president Aliyev and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. That time the Azerbaijani forces returned control of only insignificant part of southern Karabakh. Overall, I succeeded to convince president Aliyev to cease the hostilities but the obligatory condition from his side was return of refugees including to Shushi,” Putin said.

“But unexpectedly for me, the position of our Armenian partners was formed in a way that it is inadmissible for them and premier Pashinyan told me directly that he sees in it danger for the interests of Armenia and Karabakh,” he said, adding that till now he does not understand where from the threat would have come from.

“Taking into consideration that only return of peaceful civilians was intended under the control of the Armenian side in that part of Karabakh, including Shushi, and taking into consideration the presence of our peacekeepers, already agreed with Armenia and Azerbaijan then. And the premier (Armenian) told me – we cannot do that, we will fight. This is why the accusations in his address of betrayal are baseless. Another thing is that whether it was right or it was wrong, it is another question. But it cannot be talked about betrayal,” Putin said.