Following talks in the Kremlin on Monday, January 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a joint statement on the development of Karabakh.

According to the Russian leader, the plan for the implementation of the agreement will soon be presented by the deputy prime ministers of the three countries. They will lead a trilateral working group that will deal with the restoration of economic, trade and transport links, as well as the opening of borders in Nagorno-Karabakh. In addition, working expert subgroups will be formed.

The statement released after the meeting was:

“We, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan I. H. Aliyev, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia N. V. Pashinyan and President of the Russian Federation V. V. Putin declare the following:

In order to implement part of point 9 of the Statement of November 9, 2020 regarding the unblocking of all economic and transportation routes in the region, we support the proposal of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin on the establishment of a tripartite Working Group under the joint chairmanship of the Vice-Prime Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia and Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.

The Working Group will hold the first meeting until January 30, 2021, based on the results of which it will form a list of the main areas of work arising from the implementation of point 9 of the Statement, setting railway and road communications as priorities, and will also determine other areas as agreed between the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic Armenia and the Russian Federation, hereinafter referred to as the Parties.

In order to implement the main directions of activity, the co-chairs of the Working Group will approve the composition of the expert subgroups in these areas made of officials of the competent authorities and organizations of the Parties. The expert subgroups, within a month after the meeting of the Working Group, will present a list of projects with justification of the necessary resources and activities for their implementation and approval at the highest level by the Parties.

The Working Group, by March 1, 2021, will submit for approval at the highest level by the Parties a list and a schedule for the implementation of measures involving the restoration and construction of new transport infrastructure facilities necessary for the organization, implementation and security of international traffic carried out through the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, as well as transportations carried out by the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, which require crossing the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia.