Putin: Transfer of Karabakh's Shushi to Azerbaijan not raised before war

PanARMENIAN.Net - The issue of transferring the city of Shushi to Azerbaijan has never been raised, it emerged amid the new round of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Russia-24 on Tuesday, November 17.

Putin's comments contradict those of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan who said the issue has been raised during negotiations.

"In general, I managed to convince [Azerbaijani] President [Ilham] Aliyev to stop the hostilities in October, but his condition was the return of refugees, including to Shushi," Putin said, revealing that the Armenian side has rejected the proposal.

"The situation in Karabakh before the cessation of hostilities was critical, it was impossible to conduct negotiations within the OSCE Minsk Group due to lack of time. Armenia's refusal from the agreement would mean suicide for the country."

He also said the accusations of treason against Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan are groundless.

Putin said the CSTO could not interfere in the conflict because under international law, Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan.

The Russian President also weighed in on Ankara's involvement in the conflict: "You can give any assessment to Turkey's role in the Karabakh issue, but the country cannot be accused of violating international law. Turkish soldiers on the line of contact in Karabakh would mean a provocation, and Erdogan realized that."

Putin said that the status of Karabakh will be determined in the future, but for now the status quo remains in place.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev have signed a statement to end the war in Karabakh after almost 45 days. Karabakh (Artsakh) President Arayik Harutyunyan has said he has agreed to the deal signed by Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan.