Russian President Putin warns Armenia against backing out of Nagorno-Karabakh deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the Armenian government against backing out of the Nagorno-Karabakh deal on Tuesday, November 17. While speaking about the Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire in a televised interview, Putin said 'it would be a huge mistake' if a new government in the country reneged on the deal. Meanwhile, opposition forces in Yerevan are protesting against the week-old truce and have called for the resignation of the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

As per The Guardian reports, Putin said that a country that is at war or in danger of resuming hostilities, as it has always been in past years, cannot afford to behave in such a way as to divide society from within. He added that it is absolutely unacceptable, counterproductive and extremely dangerous, according to reports.

READ | Obama calls Putin 'physically unremarkable', Sarkozy 'Opportunistic' in his book

The new agreement gave Azerbaijan significant territorial concessions as a bloody six-week war, that resulted in the deaths of more than 2,300 Armenian servicemen, came to an end. Meanwhile, Pashniyan has taken responsibility for the loss of territory and said he signed the agreement to prevent further losses and save lives in the wake of Azerbaijan's substantial military advances. 

The Armenian Prime Minister further said he does not plan to step down and on Wednesday offered a government roadmap out of the crisis to ensure the democratic stability of the ravaged nation. 

READ | Putin touts Russian virus vaccines at BRICS summit

Pashinyan's 15-point plan

Pashinyan's 15-point plan includes help to those injured in the war, plans to return Armenian refugees to Nagorno-Karabakh, and intends to modernise the military. He has also called for the resumption of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) talks including Russia, France and the US on the final status of the region, which Armenians call Artsakh.

The ceasefire deal does not mention what will happen to Stepanakert, the region’s largest city, and other territories in Nagorno-Karabakh after a Russian peacekeeping deployment is scheduled to end in five years.

Meanwhile, Armenia's Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan resigned from office on Monday over the controversial deal. In addition to that, the Armenian security services last week said they had prevented an assassination plot against Pashinyan involving an opposition politician and a war veteran. 

READ | Russian President Vladimir Putin sees adoption of Moscow Declaration after BRICS Summit

READ | Putin says Sputnik V vaccine could be produced in India and China