The outcome of the Sochi summit is a political victory for the leaders of Russia and Azerbaijan, Editor-in-Chief for the National Defense magazine Igor Korotchenko told Trend News Agency.
"The summit results are a political victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, since Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, with EU support, planned to hold a summit in December [in Brussels], wanting to turn this December summit into a political accusatory process against Azerbaijan by excluding Russia’s role of key mediator in resolving the situation in the South Caucasus," Korotchenko said.
After a meeting with the Russian president on Friday, the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed to start the process of demarcating their contested border following a 44-day war in Karabakh that killed close to 7,000 people last year.
"Here, of course, the political will of President Vladimir Putin-President Ilham Aliyev proved to be stronger and more effective than that of Pashinyan and the EU."
Putin brought together Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders Aliyev and Pashinyan in the Black Sea resort of Sochi only ten days after deadly border clashes erupted between Baku and Yerevan following their ceasefire in November 2020.
"Another rather important point of the summit's results is the issue related to the beginning of the border demarcation process. Putin clearly said that a bilateral commission would be set up. Thus, he refused to take into account the wishes of Armenia to set up a trilateral commission, where Russia could lobby for the interests of Yerevan. He proposed that [Armenia] negotiate directly with Baku. Russia will provide the necessary consulting assistance, but this should be a bilateral format. Thus, Putin once again outlined his position," he added.
According to Korotchenko, overall, the results of the summit reflect the policy of rapprochement and common approaches to resolving the situation in the region, which both Russia and Azerbaijan have.
Baku and Yerevan were embroiled in a 44-day conflict on Karabakh – a region that lies within Azerbaijan but was under Armenian occupation– last year, which ended with a Russia-brokered cease-fire on Nov. 10, 2020.
During the face-off that started in September 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for nearly three decades. The peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.
The leaders of the three countries later agreed to develop economic ties and infrastructure for the benefit of the entire Caucasus region.
Earlier this month, clashes broke out on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with Russia stepping in again to mediate.
