Armenia’s acting Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan had a phone conversation with Russian Defense Minister, Army General Sergey Shoigu.

The heads of the defense ministries of the two strategic allies discussed ways to resolve the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Vagharshak Harutyunyan noted that the Armenian side respects the calls of the partner states and structures to settle the issue peacefully, adding that the position of the Armenian side is unchanged. Representatives of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan must leave the sovereign territories of the Republic of Armenia without any preconditions.

Vagharshak Harutyunyan and Sergey Shoigu also discussed the deployment of Russian border guards along with Armenian servicemen in the border sections of Syunik and Gegharkunik regions.

Reference was made to the mission of the Russian Federation peacekeeping force in the Artsakh Republic, the Armenian-Russian cooperation in the defense sphere, as well as a number of issues related to regional issues.