Russia brokered a ceasefire on Tuesday that secured territorial advances for Azerbaijan around the ethnic Armenian region, where Azeri troops have been battling ethnic Armenian forces over the past six weeks. Russia's President Vladimir Putin told his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev on Saturday to take care of Christian shrines in parts of Nagorno-Karabakh that Azerbaijan gets under this week's ceasefire agreement, the Kremlin said. Mr., Putin told Mr. Aliyev there were Christian churches and monasteries in areas of the enclave, internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated by ethnic Armenians, that Azerbaijan obtains under the ceasefire deal. Mr. Putin, Mr. Aliyev and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also discussed “practical aspects” of the ceasefire, the Kremlin said. It was not clear if Putin had a call with Mr. Aliyev and then another call with Mr. Aliyev and Mr. Pashinyan, or if he spoke separately with the Armenian leader.

Source: The Hindu November 14, 2020 22:41 UTC