He said the settlement not only depends on the mediators, but also the sides. Commenting on Russian President Vladimir Putin's attitude to the settlement of the conflict at the press conference on Thursday, the ambassador mentioned that president called on the sides to the cooperation, APA reports.
 
"As other co-chairs, Russia also tries to operate maximum constructively and fair in the settlement process of the conflict," he noted.

Touching upon Putin's statement concerning the increase of Russian military base in Armenia, Vasili Istratov noted that president expressed concrete and positive opinions on the issue.

"President expressed very accurately that Russian military base in Armenia has never been against any country of the region, as well as Azerbaijan. Russian militants' being in the conflict region doesn’t mean their participation in the conflict," he said.