Putin: Historical ties should be used in resolving problems

At the meeting in Sochi with Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that although there are international formats for solving regional problems, including the Karabakh conflict, it is necessary to use the opportunity provided by the historical ties of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Interfax news agency reported.

“We certainly respect all the international formats and will continue working with our colleagues. But we have particularly close relations and a profound prehistory allowing us to frankly exchange opinions about where we are and what we should do to make headway in resolving this problem inherited from the past,” V. Putin said.

In his words, yesterday he had the opportunity to discuss bilateral problems with both President of Armenia and President of Azerbaijan and also to communicate with them in an informal setting.

“In the evening we communicated in an informal setting. Thank God, last evening we did not discuss business matters, but there was a chance to discuss various subjects with each other. We created a certain atmosphere so as to speak frankly about the most complex, difficult issues related to the regional settlement,” V. Putin said.