President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin says Russia is making great mediation efforts to settle the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, RIA Novosti reported.

“Russia made rigorous efforts for cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh which led to the deaths of thousands of citizens of our friendly Azerbaijan and Armenia. Moreover, we observed the major agreements reached with the OSCE Minsk Group, particularly Russia, the US and France. The important thing that was achieved was the cessation of bloodshed and the fact that the establishment of ceasefire was enshrined in the trilateral statement by the Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia,” Putin said while granting credentials to ambassadors of foreign countries during a ceremony.