Russian doctors were monitoring the health of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev before their meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Arkady Dubnov, political scientist and expert on CIS countries, said in an interview with Echo of Moscow radio station that a group of Russian doctors arrived in Yerevan to monitor the state of health of Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan. The latter had already been living in self-isolation, but no reasons for that were specified.
Another team of Russian doctors arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan, to monitor the state of health of the Azerbaijani president.
This preparation "ensured a safe meeting between Putin and the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, which they could not refuse.
It is worthy of note that Armenian President Armen Sargsyan was diagnosed with the coronavirus infection after he returned from London after a surgery that he had had in the British capital.
As it appears, Russian president Putin, unlike many other world leaders, including his 81-year-old Israeli counterpart Reuven Rivlin, Queen Elizabeth II and her spouse (aged 94 and 99 years old respectively), US President-elect Joe Biden (78 years old), is unwilling to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Earlier, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the president "was thinking about getting the vaccine shots," but added that Putin would make the decision on his own. He also said that the Kremlin had no intention to keep the news secret, although no information has been revealed so far about Putin's vaccination against COVID-19.
The talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev finished in Moscow.
The meeting between the leaders of the three countries lasted for almost four hours. The talks were dedicated to the settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Following the results of the talks, Putin said that the trilateral agreements adopted on November 9 were being consistently implemented.
"We are convinced that this creates necessary prerequisites for a long-term and full-scale settlement of the long-standing conflict on a fair basis, in the interests of both the Armenian and the Azerbaijani peoples," the Kremlin press service quoted Putin as saying.
Pashinyan and Aliyev arrived in Moscow on Monday morning, January 11. The meeting took place in the Moscow Kremlin. The three leaders did not shake hands when they met.
At the talks, the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a joint statement on the development of Nagorno-Karabakh.
According to the Russian president, Yerevan and Baku agreed to create a working group at the level of deputy prime ministers to address problems of economy and transport infrastructure in the region. He also said that special workgroups would soon be created to develop action plans regarding the issues.
According to the approved statement, the workgroup is to submit for approval the list and the schedule (by March 1, 2021) for the implementation of measures for the restoration of existing and the construction of new transport infrastructure facilities that are required for international transportation via the territories of Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that the unblocking of transport communication routes, which was discussed by the heads of the three countries, meets the interests of both Yerevan and Baku.
"This is an area that can both boost the development of the region and strengthen security. The opening of transport communications meets the interests of the peoples of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, as well as of our neighbors. I am convinced that neighboring countries will also actively participate in the creation of transport corridors and an extensive network of transport arteries in our region," the President of Azerbaijan said.
President of Azerbaijan Aliyev believes that the new trilateral statement actually "draws the line for what happened last year." Unblocking transport communications will allow Azerbaijan to establish communication with the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic for the first time in 30 years, and Armenia will be able to take advantage of the railroad communication to Russia and Iran through the territory of Azerbaijan, he explained. In addition, there will be access to the Turkish market and the Turkish and Russian railways.
On November 9, the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia signed the trilateral statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. The parties remained in their positions with Baku's subsequent control over three more districts. To crown it all, Russian peacekeepers entered the region in accordance with the terms of the trilateral agreement.
Violent clashes started on September 27 on the line of demarcation between Azerbaijan and the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), supported by Armenia. The parties accused each other of provocations.