ANKARA (Combined Sources)—Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, while visiting Turkey Thursday said Russia’s position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is unchanged, saying his country wanted a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
While reaffirming his country’s commitment to mediate the conflict, Putin said that Russia cannot take any action on behalf of the sides to the conflict.
“We will by all means assist in finding agreements and compromises that will lead to a final and complete settlement of the conflict,” Putin told a news conference in Ankara.
The Turkish press reported that Putin discussed the conflict resolution process with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but did not want delve into details of the talks.
“Once I was very actively involved in this matter. Now, President Dmitry Medvedev has joined the talks and holds periodic meetings with the presidents of two countries and does serious and active work towards resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
“There are very serious and positive changes in terms of settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Russia wants a speedy resolution to the conflict. Russia does not wish the presence of any conflict in the Caucasus. Because the existence of conflicts overshadows our relations with countries in the region,” Putin said.