NOVO-OGARYOVO/YEREVAN. Dec 2 (Interfax) - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has had to make painful but necessary decisions regarding Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"The Armenian leadership and prime minister have had to make very difficult decisions, which were, however, necessary for the people of Armenia. I should say that those decisions were obviously painful, but yet again necessary and required huge personal courage of the prime minister," Putin said at the virtual session of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Collective Security Council on Wednesday.
"Everyone present at today's session understands the degree of responsibility assumed as a result of such decisions," Putin said. "He [Pashinyan] assumed that responsibility, so we should support the prime minister and his team in order to restore peaceful life, to fulfill every earlier decision, and to help people who have found themselves in a difficult life situation," he said.
Pashinyan described Russian peacekeepers as the guarantors of peace and security in Nagorno-Karabakh. "The Russian peacekeeping contingent is the guarantor of peace and security in the region. The exclusive role of the Russian president deserves a special mention. Over 44 days of hostilities, we continuously stayed in touch and discussed measures necessary for stopping the bloodshed and protecting the people," Pashinyan said at the virtual session.
Armenia continues to work closely with Russia in the search for missing persons and the exchange of prisoners of war, other captives, and bodies, he said.
It is also necessary to create conditions for the return of residents to their homes and the resumption of normal life in Nagorno-Karabakh, and to ensure the protection of cultural and religious monuments, Pashinyan said. The safe operation of transport routes is another priority, he said.