Russia is ready to facilitate the return of people to Nagorno-Karabakh, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Mikhail Galuzin has said in an interview with TASS.

Galuzin claimed that the forced deportation of over 100,000 Armenians from Karabakh was in fact their “voluntary choice”.

“Now Karabakh is being integrated into the legal field of Azerbaijan,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the majority of Karabakh Armenians left the region. It was their difficult but voluntary choice. In this regard, it is important to create conditions for the return of those who want to do so, while properly ensuring their rights and safety. We are ready to provide every possible assistance to this process, including through the Russian peacekeeping contingent, whose presence is of great importance.”

Galuzin said in the same interview that Russia now discusses conditions of the stay of its peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh only with the Azerbaijani side.