"Russian President Vladimir Putin said that in October he persuaded Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to suspend military operations in Karabakh on the condition that the refugees return to Shusha, but Armenia opposed it." The statement came from Russian President Vladimir Putin, RIA Novosti reported. He said that on October 19-20, he had a series of telephone conversations with both Ilham Aliyev and Nicole Pashinyan. According to Putin, Yerevan unexpectedly did not accept the offer.
The Russian leader added that the situation in Karabakh was critical until the end of the fighting, and it was impossible to negotiate within the OSCE Minsk Group due to lack of time. Putin said that Armenia's refusal to reach an agreement on Karabakh on November 10 could be a suicide for the country. "Azerbaijani Armed Forces took control of Shusha. According to Pashinyan, the situation was critical for the Armenian side. The hours were counting. It was possible to take Khankendi and make further progress, "Putin said. The Russian president stressed the importance of stopping the bloodshed in the region.