Russia respects international formats for resolution of Karabakh conflict and will continue participation, but also plans to use special character of bilateral relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan to normalize the situation, Vladimir Putin said during his meeting with Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders.

“Of course, we respect all international formats and we will continue to work with our colleagues. But we proceed from the fact that we still have very close relationship and deep background that allows us to frankly exchange views on where we are and what should be done in order to move forward in resolving all these problems that we have inherited from the past,” Putin said, RIA Novosti reported.