Russian, Armenian defense ministers address situation in Nagorno-Karabakh

MOSCOW (TASS): Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu discussed over the phone the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh with his Armenian counterpart Vagharshak Harutyunyan, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.

“In the evening of May 19, Russian Defense Minister, Army General Sergey Shoigu held talks over the phone with Armenian [Acting] Defense Minister [Vagharshak] Harutyunyan. During the conversation, the situation in the region and areas, where Russia’s peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh fulfills the tasks, was discussed,” the defense ministry said.

Armenia also reported that “Harutyunyan outlined his stance on the situation resulting from the Azerbaijani forces’ provocations and Armenia’s actions”. “Both sides agreed on the need for a peaceful settlement of the issue. Meanwhile, Armenia’s Acting Defense Minister stressed that any encroachments on Armenia’s sovereign territories were absolutely unacceptable and the Azerbaijani military must return to their original positions,” the republic’s defense ministry stated.

On May 12, the Armenian Defense Ministry reported that Azerbaijan’s forces tried to carry out “a certain effort” in one of Syunik’s border regions in order to “adjust the border”. As the ministry stated, after the measures taken by the Armenian forces, the Azerbaijani servicemen halted these works. In the evening of the same day, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting of the republic’s Security Council, during which he slammed these events an encroachment on Armenia’s territory. According to Pashinyan, the Azerbaijani forces crossed the country’s border, going 3.5 km deep.

On May 17, the defense ministers of Russia and Armenia discussed over the phone issues of bilateral cooperation, the situation in the region and the peacekeeping operation in Nagorno-Karabakh.