Armenia 'ready' to extend Russian peacekeepers’ mandate for up to 20 years: Prime minister

By Burak Dag and Elena Teslova

ANKARA/MOSCOW (AA) - Armenia is “ready” to sign a trilateral agreement with Russia and Azerbaijan on the extension of the mandate of the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh for up to 20 years, the Armenian prime minister said on Saturday.

"We want the Russian peacekeepers to continue their mission. I am ready to sign in Sochi a document about the extension of the mandate of the Russian peacekeepers for 10, 15 or 20 years," Nikol Pashinyan said at a congress of Civil Contract political party.

"I can make this proposal myself, but the Russian side should support it," Pashinyan said.

On Friday, the Kremlin press service announced that the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan and the prime minister of Armenia will hold a trilateral meeting in Russia's resort city of Sochi on Oct.31.

The Armenian prime minister noted that he cannot decide on the extension unilaterally because the agreement, under which the peacekeeping mission is organized, was signed by three parties -- Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia.

However, he added, if Russia and Armenia put forward the idea together, they will have the majority.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

In fall 2020, in 44 days of clashes, Baku liberated several cities, villages, and settlements from Armenian occupation, ending in a Moscow-brokered truce. The peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.