Putin: We had proposed for years a solution that would allow Karvachar and Lachin to remain under Armenian control

During the Eastern Economic Forum, Russian President
Vladimir Putin, noted that it was Yerevan that decided the status of Artsakh.

“As a matter of fact, the Armenian authorities have
recognized Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh. And this was simply
sealed by the Prague statement,” Putin said.

The Russian president noted that, with this in mind, all
issues should be decided bilaterally with Baku.

“And what can we say about this? There is nothing to say.
What can we do if Armenia itself accepted that Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan?”
Putin said.

He stated that they had proposed for years to negotiate with
Azerbaijan in a way that would allow Karvachar and Lachin to remain under the
RA control. However, the RA authorities did not agree.

“In fact, we were trying to persuade them for a decade. And
when asked what they were going to do then, they said that they would fight,”
Putin noted.