Armenia was forced to accept painful decisions amid great courage from Pashinyan: Putin

BEIRUT, LEBANON (6:10 P.M.) – Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for the signing of the ceasefire agreement in the disputed Karabakh region, stressing the absence of any alternative to this step.

Putin said on Wednesday, during the virtual summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, that Armenia has recently passed a very difficult stage in its history, explaining:

“Armenia’s leaders and its prime minister were forced to take difficult decisions, but it was  necessary for the people. Of course, these decisions were painful, but I stress once:  were deemed necessary and required great personal courage from the prime minister.”

The Russian President pointed out that the leaders of the Collective Security Treaty are aware of the responsibility that Pashinyan has assumed upon him in signing the ceasefire agreement, adding: “(Pashinyan) bears this responsibility, and our task is to support him and his team now with the aim of creating peaceful conditions and ensuring the implementation of the decisions that have been adopted, helping people who suffer from difficult living conditions. ”

Putin stressed to the leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization the need to collectively provide aid to the residents of the affected areas as a result of the recent round of fighting in Karabakh, and to contribute to resolving the humanitarian problems related to the return of displaced persons, the reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure, and the protection of the historical, religious and cultural heritage in the region.

The tripartite statement signed by Putin, Pashinyan and the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, on the 10th of November provides for the Armenian side in the Karabakh conflict to make tangible ground concessions and to deploy Russian peacekeepers to supervise the implementation of the truce in the region.

Putin had previously revealed that Pashinyan, weeks before the signing of the tripartite statement, refused to sign another agreement reached between Russia and Azerbaijan to stop the fighting in Karabakh, which would not require tangible concessions from Armenia.