Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan to set up working group to resolve Karabakh's economic, infrastructure issues - Putin

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - The meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has proved useful, with the sides announcing the creation of a trilateral group for the development of economic cooperation and infrastructure projects in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Russian president said.

"I consider our today's meeting to have been exceptionally important and useful, since we were able to agree and sign a joint statement regarding the development of the situation in the region," Putin said after the talks with Aliyev and Pashinyan.

This involves "specific steps to build economic ties and develop infrastructure projects," he said.

"To that end, a working group will be created led by deputy prime ministers of the three governments: Azerbaijan's, Armenia's and Russia's," he said.

The deputy prime ministers will "soon create expert subgroups and submit specific plans on the development of the region's transport infrastructure and economy," Putin said.

"I am certain that the implementation of these agreements will benefit the people of both Armenia and Azerbaijan, doubtless the region as a whole, and therefore the interests of the Russian Federation," he said.