Sergei Markov: Armenians were not going to surrender seven districts

"As for the destruction, we certainly expected to see all this, well, of course, there is a feeling of bitterness, injustice, especially that the ancient capital of the Karabakh Khanate suffered such destruction. It's certainly a tragic perception. In principle, we were ready for this since we saw similar things not so long ago in Aghdam," Director of the Russian Institute for Political Studies Sergei Markov told Report.

According to him, all this seen is perceived as a family cemetery among lush greenery.

"People who were forced to flee 30 years ago for fear of death, ethnic cleansing by the Armenian militants lived for many centuries in the same place, in these villages, houses," he said.

"I was also struck by the huge number of concrete pillars on which there were barbed wires and a barrage. Armenians prepared all this for military actions. I remember the words by Sergei Lavrov (Russian Foreign Minister - ed.), who told me that when the Azerbaijani side showed the first photos of these places, we realized that the Armenians were not going to surrender these seven regions," Markov said.