Russia's position has always been that we should reach agreements without bloodshed; this is how our position is built in the OSCE Minsk Group. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated this at a press conference Thursday, speaking about the avenues for resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict.

"For many years we have been of the position that the seven regions being kept around Nagorno-Karabakh should be returned to Azerbaijan. The actual status of Nagorno-Karabakh shall remain unchanged; that is, [it shall be] to be transferred to the future, a status quo shall be specified in Nagorno-Karabakh. But in case of mandatory creation of the possibility of communication between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, for which it is planned to create the so-called 'Lachin corridor;' that is, the communication corridor between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh," Putin added.