Defense Ministers of Russia and Armenia Sergei Shoigu and Vagharshak Harutyunyan discussed military cooperation and issues of mutual interest over the phone on Wednesday, March 10.

"During the phone call, various aspects of bilateral military and military-technical cooperation, the current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh where Russian peacekeepers are deployed, as well as other issues of mutual interest were discussed," a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry reports.

Shoigu and Harutyunyan's talks took place against the backdrop of the political crisis in Armenia.

Earlier on Wednesday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan fired Chief of the Army General Staff Onik Gasparyan and proposed appointing Lieutenant-General Artak Davtyan in the post.