At a plenary session within the framework of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok on September 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent him a detailed letter about the current situation in the South Caucasus.

"We are in contact with him, we have no problems with Armenia, and we have no problems with Pashinyan, we are in constant contact," the Russian head of state emphasized.

Vladimir Putin stated that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev claims that the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh's status is closed as Armenia itself has recognized it as a part of Azerbaijan. "We offered our options for settlement, what to hide, I think it is well known. Armenia controlled seven districts, which it brought under its control after the famous Armenian-Azerbaijani [1991-1994] conflict. We proposed to agree with Azerbaijan in such a way that two districts - Kalbajar and Lachin remained, in fact, under the jurisdiction of Armenia. And the whole of Karabakh. But the Armenian leadership did not agree to this, although we tried to convince Armenians for decades, 10-15 years," Putin noted. "There were different options, but in the end, it all came down to this. When asked what you will do, the answer in Armenia was 'We will fight.' In the end, the current situation has developed," he added.

Putin emphasized, "But it is not only about the results of the last conflict. It is also about the fact that the Armenian leadership has essentially recognized Azerbaijan's sovereignty over Karabakh. And in its Prague statement, it simply put it on paper. We know about it, so what to say? Now President Aliyev says to me: 'Well, you know that Armenia has recognized that Karabakh is ours, that the issue of Karabakh's status is no longer an issue, it has been resolved.' The Armenian leadership has publicly announced this, counting the entire territory before 1991 within the Azerbaijan SSR and giving a figure that includes the territory of Karabakh itself. This has taken place, it is not our decision, it is the decision of the Armenian leadership of today."

"Taking this into account, as they say in Azerbaijan, now all issues, if Russia wants to do something on Karabakh, should be solved with Baku on a bilateral basis. And what can we say? There is nothing to say here. If Armenia itself has recognized that Karabakh is a part of Azerbaijan, well, what can we say? The status of Karabakh was determined by Armenia itself," the Russian president added.

Putin continued, "At the same time, there are other issues related to the humanitarian component and the mandate of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh. The mandate is still in force, but the issues of a humanitarian nature, preventing some ethnic cleansing there, of course, they have not gone anywhere. I fully agree with this. I hope the Azerbaijani leadership is not interested in ethnic cleansing, as they have always told us and still do."