PanARMENIAN.Net – Statements released by the OSCE Minsk Group are aimed at reducing tensions on the contact line, Russian co-chair Igor Popov said on Monday, June 12.

After meeting Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) president Bako Sahakyan, Popov told reporters that the Mink Group has always released targeted statements which sought to help maintain the process of the peaceful settlement of the conflict.

The co-chairs arrived in Armenia on Saturday and met with foreign minister Edward Nalbandian, defense minister Vigen Sargsyan and president Serzh Sargsyan. They met with Sahakyan on Monday.

The Armenian officials have on both days hailed the co-chairs' targeted assessment of Azerbaijan’s aggression.

The co-chairs in a statement released on May 18 gave an assessment of the current situation on the Karabakh line of contact, addressed to Azerbaijan.

The ambassadors cited "information collected from multiple reliable sources" which proved that Azerbaijan initiated the latest escalation on the contact line.