Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked the Russian peacekeepers in the Karabakh region for professionalism, endurance, and persistence.

"Our peacekeepers have been assisting to maintain stability in the Karabakh region for more than a year," Putin said at an expanded meeting of the Defense Ministry on December 21.

"The humanitarian situation has been improved, the territory of a number of districts has been cleared of mines, social infrastructure has been restored, historical and cultural monuments have been preserved thanks to the efforts of our peacekeepers," he noted.

"I would like to thank the personnel performing peacekeeping tasks for professionalism, endurance, and persistence," Putin added.