Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders agreed on a joint statement to continue to work on the normalization of ties between Baku and Yerevan, following a trilateral summit in the Russian resort town of Sochi on Monday.
"In our common opinion, this was a very useful meeting. In my opinion, it created a very good atmosphere for future possible agreements on some fundamental issues," Putin said in a statement after the meeting concluded.
Putin underlined that parties could not agree on everything concerning Karabakh, adding that some parts had to be removed from the text "previously worked out at the level of specialists."
He later said Moscow will do everything for a final settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
"The Russian Federation remains in contact with Armenia and Azerbaijan to continue the dialogue and put an end to the conflict in this region," Putin noted.
Earlier, Putin held separate talks with Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders with a focus on individual talking points addressed by Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinian during the trilateral meeting.
This September, deadly clashes on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border near Karabakh claimed nearly 300 lives.
Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
In the fall of 2020, in 44 days of clashes, Baku liberated several cities, villages, and settlements from Armenian occupation, ending in a Moscow-brokered truce. The peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.
The talks were held as Western engagement grows in the volatile Caucasus region, where Russia — distracted by its war in Ukraine — is palpably losing influence after decades of domination.
The initiative comes a month after the worst clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan since their war in 2020.
"In our common opinion, it was a very useful meeting that created a very good atmosphere for possible future agreements," the Russian president told journalists.
Ahead of the trilateral summit, Putin met the two visiting leaders, Armenian Prime Minister Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, separately.
"The most important thing is to ensure peace and create conditions for development," he told Pashinian.
Ahead of the meeting, Pashinian said Yerevan's priorities included Azerbaijani withdrawal from the areas in Karabakh controlled by Russian peacekeepers and the liberation of Armenian POWs.
Putin then received Aliyev, who thanked his Russian counterpart for giving "impetus to the normalization process".
"The Karabakh conflict is already part of history. This issue was resolved two years ago. So there is practically nothing left to discuss in this context," Aliyev insisted.
Last month, 286 people from both sides were killed in clashes that have jeopardized a slow and halting peace process.
The hostilities ended with a U.S.-brokered cease-fire, after earlier failed attempts by Russia to negotiate a truce.
With Moscow increasingly isolated on the world stage following its February offensive on Ukraine, the U.S. and the EU have taken a leading role in mediating the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks.
Following a slew of diplomatic efforts from Brussels and Washington, Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers met on Oct. 3 in Geneva to begin drafting the text of a future peace treaty.
Russia and EU leaders have traded criticism of their respective mediation efforts in the Karabakh conflict, with Moscow and Paris, in particular, exchanging jabs this month.
Putin recently dismissed a comment by Macron who said that Moscow was "destabilizing" a peace process between the two countries.
Moscow has traditionally acted as a middleman between the two countries, which were both part of the Soviet Union.
Russian peacekeepers
The 2020 cease-fire agreement saw Russia deploy a force of 2,000 peacekeepers to the region to oversee a fragile truce.
Ahead of the talks, Armenia's Pashinian said he was ready to extend their presence by up to another two decades.
Russia's peacekeeping mission has been criticized by some with even Pashinyan raising concerns about the force, in rare Armenian criticism of its ally.
The EU has announced a "civilian EU mission" to Armenia to monitor cease-fire violations.
Aliyev has vowed to repopulate Karabakh with Azerbaijanis and recently re-opened the Zangilan airport in the liberated territories.
Baku's ally Türkiye has also advanced its efforts to be involved in mediation, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan meeting both Aliyev and Pashinian recently in Prague.
The Kremlin said the trio would also discuss "questions on rebuilding and developing trade and economic as well as transport links."