Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club, commented on Azerbaijan’s detention of former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan and other ex-leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh.
He drew attention to the fact that Vardanyan renounced Russian citizenship. At the same time, when asked whether Russia could call on Azerbaijan to “show mercy,” Putin said that Moscow has always done that and is doing it now.
“I spoke, as you know, on the phone with President Aliyev. But we talked before…he assured me that no matter what happens, he will ensure the security and rights of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh,” Putin said.
“But now there are no Armenians left there, everyone has left. There are simply no Armenians there, maybe 1000-1500, that’s all. Well, that’s it, there’s just no one there. As for the former leaders, I don’t know, I don’t want to go into details, but as I understand it, they especially don’t want to see them in Yerevan,” added the Russian President.
At the same time, the head of the Russian Federation proceeds from the fact that the leadership of Azerbaijan in this case, when all issues of a territorial nature for Baku have been resolved, will still be guided by considerations of a humanitarian nature.
