Russian President Vladimir Putin was following the talks between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. This statement came from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview with Russian media.

"The talks were unique, but I should mention that the [Russian] President made his contribution at the decisive moment. He oversaw the course of the talks, and we talked twice late at night," Lavrov said.

He added that Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu also joined the process. "It was important to agree upon the matter that the establishment of a ceasefire would probably not be enough if a ceasefire monitoring mechanism was not in place. Sergey Shoygu and I have had contacts with our colleagues from Baku and Yerevan several times in recent days. Shoygu communicated with the defense ministers [of Armenia and Azerbaijan]. And the [Russian] President also talked to the leaders of the conflicting parties," the Russian FM said.