Russian defense Minister Sergei Shoigu met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and defense Minister Vagharshak Aratyunyan in Yerevan. Armenian sources reported that during the talks, Shoigu said that our country intends to prevent further bloodshed in Nagorno-Karabakh.
"A lot of work is still to be done, I hope, to establish a peaceful life in Karabakh. And from our side, of course, the main task is to prevent bloodshed, " the Russian Minister was quoted as saying by TASS. - This is the task that our Supreme commander has set for us. And we are certainly determined to fulfill it."
Shoigu recalled that after the joint statement signed on November 9 by the leaders of the three countries - Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia - our country urgently transferred the entire peacekeeping contingent to the South Caucasus. The operation was completed last Thursday.
"During these days, we have actually stood up all over the territory of Karabakh. 23 posts were posted. We control the road to Stepanakert, the Lachin corridor, and, of course, ensure the promotion and return of refugees who left there, " the head of the Russian military Department said.
He arrived in Yerevan as part of the Russian interdepartmental delegation. It also includes foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk, health Minister Mikhail Murashko and head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova.
The heads of a number of our ministries and departments will be sent to Azerbaijan and Armenia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday. He said that the task of this delegation will be to consider the most pressing issues of the implementation of the trilateral statement on Nagorno-Karabakh of November 9, including humanitarian issues.
At the talks in Yerevan on Saturday, Russian defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made no secret: "We came with a big plan, we hope to implement it."
A day earlier, the Russian defense Minister reported to the President of the country that our peacekeeping contingent has completed its deployment in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and has begun to fulfill its tasks.
"Units of the 15th separate motorized rifle brigade, which forms the basis of the peacekeeping forces, have been prepared and deployed to the conflict area," the Minister said at a meeting led by Vladimir Putin. "A total of 250 flights were made, 1960 people and 552 pieces of equipment were transported."
At the same time, Shoigu said that the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is now fully controlled by our military.
"The further task is to observe the ceasefire at 23 observation posts. A management system has been deployed to guide the peacekeeping operation, which allows it to respond quickly to changes in the situation. The General staff has organized interaction and established direct channels of communication with the military departments of Azerbaijan and Armenia," the head of the Russian defense Ministry said.
He specified that the Lachin corridor, which connects Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, and the 28-kilometer stretch of road to Stepanakert have already been completely cleared of explosive objects and equipment destroyed during the fighting. Since last Tuesday, safe movement of civil vehicles has been carried out along the Lachin corridor.
In addition, Shoigu said that as part of the implementation of the Memorandum on the establishment of a joint Russian-Turkish center for monitoring the ceasefire and all military operations on the territory of Azerbaijan, coordination with Ankara of its location and tasks is being completed.
At the meeting, it became known that additional forces of the Border service of the FSB of Russia will be deployed on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
"In accordance with the decision taken, in order to ensure the border security of the Republic of Armenia, measures to maintain peace in Nagorno - Karabakh and at the request of the Armenian side, the Border Department of the FSB in the Republic of Armenia has allocated an additional reserve of 188 military personnel and the necessary amount of equipment," Director of the Federal security service Bortnikov reported to the President. - Border guards will deploy additional forces on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the site and organized posts."
The FSB Director added that the Azerbaijani authorities have been informed about this decision. The necessary interaction with partners is organized.
Bortnikov also has informed that from 18 to 20 November, the Office of aviation FSB and the defense Ministry has taken a reserve in Armenia. Forces are being coordinated now. By Sunday, the border guards will go to the areas of responsibility and begin to perform their tasks.
An FSB task force will be deployed to manage and manage the reserve, as well as interact and coordinate actions with the Interagency humanitarian response center and the peacekeeping contingent at the 127th border guard station in the city of Migra.
Yuri Gavrilov