NUR-SULTAN. Dec 18 (Interfax) - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has described the trilateral statement on the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh as the only correct decision and has expressed hope it will help keep peace in the region for a long time.
"They have put out a hotbed of conflict [...] that was poisoning the political atmosphere in the CIS throughout its history," Tokayev said at the virtual CIS summit on Friday.
"The close interaction between our states is crucial at this difficult moment. Yes, we differ from one another by economic potential, and our historical viewpoints and even geopolitical views may be different, as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has shown. But the most important thing is that people in our countries want to live in peace and to be friends," he said.
"This vests us, the chiefs of CIS member states, with special responsibility. It is our duty to avoid situations that could divide our peoples and to search for ways and opportunities to foster mutually advantageous cooperation and to promote rapprochement between CIS member states amid the strategic turmoil," Tokayev said.
The fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh continued from September 27 to November 9. The leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia adopted a statement on November 9 on an absolute ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting on November 10. Russia has deployed peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh.