Russia's President Vladimir Putin is offering Azerbaijan mediation assistance in the country's conflict with Armenia.
Putin is visiting the capital Baku, and the initiative comes as he meets with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev.
It is commonly known that Russia also has crises, primarily regarding Ukraine, said Putin at a joint press conference.
But Russia's historical involvement in southern Caucasus, even in recent years, makes it necessary for us to participate when the parties see a need.
Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Caucasus have been in a military conflict over, among other things, the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabach, which took an abrupt turn when Azerbaijani forces captured the region in a military offensive last September.
Since then, the government in the capital Yerevan in Armenia, which has traditionally been close to Moscow, has opened up for closer ties with Western countries and the EU.
