Kremlin says implementation of Karabakh agreement 'going well'

MOSCOW

The implementation of agreements on the Karabakh settlement is "going well," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday

Russian President Vladimir Putin is in constant contact with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the issue, Peskov told reporters at a news conference in Moscow.

"Now we are dealing with the issues of implementation -- implementation of the agreements that were reached," he said.

As for the EU willingness to join the trilateral format on the Karabakh settlement -- Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan – it is welcome "if mediation efforts bring stability, predictability and help in the implementation of existing agreements," added Peskov.

Putin and Aliyev held talks in Moscow on Tuesday with a focus on the settlement in the Karabakh region.

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions

New clashes erupted last September and ended with a Russia-brokered cease-fire.

During a subsequent 44-day conflict which ended under a deal signed on Nov. 10, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from Armenia’s nearly three-decade occupation.