Moscow, 22 May 2023 (dpa/MIA) - The ex-Soviet republic of Armenia is ready to recognize the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of neighbouring Azerbaijan under certain circumstances, according to the government.

Nagorno-Karabakh is among the 86,000 square kilometres that Armenia has recognized as Azerbaijani territory, the country's head of government Nikol Pashinyan told a press conference on Monday. The question of the rights and security of the Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh must be still be discussed, he said.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been engaged in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh for decades.

In the 1990s, the Armenian-majority region managed to break away from Azerbaijan in a bloody civil war.

In 2020, after new fighting, Baku regained control over part of the territory via a ceasefire deal. A Russian peacekeeping force monitors compliance with the agreement.

However, the ceasefire is fragile. Until recently, there were repeated battles between the two sides. The fighting also spread to other border areas of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In this context, Pashinyan also criticised the Russian-dominated military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).

The head of government implied that the CSTO was not fulfilling its protective function towards Armenia. For this reason, he said, he had now invited an EU observer mission to the conflict region instead of CSTO observers.