The representative of the Armenian Defense Ministry Artsrun Hovhannisyan commented on the figures given on Thursday, October 22, by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the victims of the escalation of the armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Earlier, Putin, speaking at the Valdai discussion club, noted that, according to Russian data, there are more than 2,000 deaths on both sides of the conflict in Karabakh, and the total death toll is already approaching 5,000.
“Is it not clear from the statement that generalized figures are given? The President of Russia could not have announced specific figures, this is out of the question. It is clear that the losses of the enemy – the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan and the groups of militants fighting on their side – are several times greater than ours. This is an absolute truth, “RIA Novosti quotes Hovhannisyan.
Earlier on Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow is making active efforts to end hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.
On the same day, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that he did not rule out a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Nagorno-Karabakh in Moscow.
In turn, Pashinyan noted that the Karabakh issue has no diplomatic solution. He stressed that Yerevan has always talked about its readiness to solve the problem on the basis of a mutual compromise. But the situation has developed in such a way that things acceptable for Armenia are no longer acceptable for Azerbaijan.
On October 20, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov announced that Moscow continues to work at the diplomatic level with Baku and Yerevan on the settlement of the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh zone.
The aggravation of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh began on September 27. Baku and Yerevan accused each other of shelling and the death of civilians. On October 9, during negotiations in Moscow, the parties agreed to cease fire from October 10, but in fact this did not happen.
On October 18, a new humanitarian truce entered into force, the first night in Stepanakert passed calmly. However, both Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of violating the ceasefire and conducting shelling along the line of contact.
The conflict around Karabakh erupted in 1988 due to the decision of the autonomy of Nagorno-Karabakh to leave the Azerbaijan SSR. Baku lost control over the region during the 1992-1994 military confrontation, but still considers the territory its own.