Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at “Россия зовет” (Russian Calling) forum about the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Where did the conflict begin? It began with ethnic clashes, first, in Sumgait in Azerbaijan, and then in Nagorno-Karabakh. At the time, the leadership of the Soviet Union did not take any effective measures to ensure the safety of people. The Armenians took up arms and did it themselves.”
“As the results, Nagorno-Karabakh and seven other districts of Azerbaijan fell under the control of Armenia. Isn’t this good? What is Azerbaijan talking about? These seven regions have nothing to do with the conflict. They are originally Azerbaijani territories. Azerbaijan says that they have the right to these territories.”
“In the conflict, everyone has their own truth and there are no simple solutions because the knot is difficult to tie. Russia initially adhered to the position that five and then two more districts of disputed territories should be transferred under Baku’s control with the provisions of certain regime.”
Though Putin did not mention explicitly about who should have Nagorno-Karabakh itself, it is noted that he spoke about the Russian stance that the seven districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh should be transferred to Azerbaijan. Does he think it would be a temporary solution?