During a meeting at Valdai Discussion Club, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin was asked if there is a need to change the format of the Minsk Group, to which Putin said perhaps the format can be changed a little.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have the answer to your question [is it necessary to change the format of the group for settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?], and it’s not because I want to emphasize Russia’s role. Everyone understands that these are our neighbors and we have special relations with these countries and peoples. Russia has a special sense of responsibility for the settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh, but it needs support, including the support of the US and France and other members of the Minsk Group, including Turkey, as a matter of fact.

I repeat that we have sought and proposed mutual concessions for years. Unfortunately, we failed to find a solution, and this led to today’s tragedy. I hope everything ends, the battles end. I agree that the first thing to do is to cease fire. We agreed on this in Moscow, but unfortunately, the situation didn’t stay the same. We will aspire for this,” he stated.