Pashinyan Says Ready to Sign Document Extending Russian Peacekeepers Stay in Karabakh

YEREVAN (Sputnik) - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Saturday that he is ready to sign a document on extension of Russian peacekeepers mandate in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh for 10-20 years at the upcoming meeting with Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev respectively, on Monday in Sochi.

"I officially declare that I am ready to sign a document in Sochi so that the representation of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh is unconditionally ensured for 10, 15, 20 years. I propose that the Russian president make this proposal, if necessary, I will make such a proposal. But Russia must support this proposal since I cannot determine the terms of the stay of the Russian peacekeepers, this is a trilateral document, and if we and Russia agree, we will be the majority," Pashinyan said, adding that Russia, as a mediator, can present this project.

Later in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the possibility of signing such a document.

"We need to wait for the meeting itself," Peskov told Sputnik.

Russia brokered a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan and deployed its peacekeepers to the region following a short conflict between Baku and Yerevan over a decades-long territorial dispute in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In September, hostilities broke out on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border; however, the sides have managed to strike another ceasefire agreement.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said last week, following a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Prague, that a peace deal between Baku and Yerevan may be reached by the end of 2022.