Vladimir Putin admitted the possibility of the return to Azerbaijan of seven regions occupied by Armenia

The problem of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh is that back in Soviet times, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region was formed as part of the Azerbaijan SSR, mainly with the Armenian population. It, however, had no common borders with either Armenia or Iran. Even in late Soviet times, the inhabitants of the autonomy raised the issue of secession from the Azerbaijan SSR; during the collapse of the USSR, they proclaimed independence. In the early 1990s, the first major conflict broke out in the region, during which Armenian forces took control not only of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Okrug proper, but also the neighboring regions of Azerbaijan, securing the border with Armenia and Iran. Local Azeri residents were forced to flee their homes.

Russia initially talked about the possibility of transferring to Azerbaijan "five and two more" regions occupied by Armenia, - said Russian President Vladimir Putin, but "with the provision of a certain regime for the Karabakh zone, interaction with Armenia, and so on".

According to Vladimir Putin, the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh began with ethnic clashes, and the Soviet leadership did not take any effective measures to ensure the safety of people, Interfax reports.

“The Armenians took up arms and did it themselves. Good or bad, but initially these negative events on ethnic grounds were the message for their actions. This led to the fact that Nagorno-Karabakh itself, and seven more regions of Azerbaijan, fell under Armenian control. Is it good or not? "Said the President of Russia." And what is Azerbaijan talking about? That, in any case, seven regions have nothing to do with either the ethnic conflict or Armenia. These are primordially Azerbaijani territories. Azerbaijan says: we we have the right to return these territories. Everyone has their own truth. There are no simple solutions, because the knot is very difficult to tie".

The first attempt to reach a truce between Armenia and Azerbaijan was made with the active participation of Russia, the last with the participation of the United States. But the ceasefire was immediately broken, the bloody conflict continues, civilians also become its victims. Vladimir Putin sees a long-term settlement of the conflict in "finding a balance of interests that would suit both sides - both the Azerbaijani people, to whom we treat with unwavering respect, and the interests of the Armenian people would be taken into account".

Today, on October 29, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow is still concerned about the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, military operations, and "the increasingly large-scale involvement of foreign mercenaries from the Middle East in armed clashes".

At the same time, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that his country should restore control over all its officially recognized borders, and "Azerbaijanis should return to all the occupied territories where they lived." At the same time, in Soviet times, a significant part of Azerbaijanis lived within the boundaries of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Okrug proper, but also a part of the Armenians lived in neighboring regions outside its borders.