Armenian and Russian defense chiefs Vagharshak Harutyunyan and Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday, June 16 discussed over the phone ways to resolve the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

The Azerbaijani forces violated Armenia’s border in several sections in the provinces of Syunik and Gegharkunik on May 12 and 13 and are refusing to withdraw their troops from the area. One Armenian serviceman was killed in Azerbaijan’s shooting on May 25, six troops were captured on May 27, although four of them have already returned home.

Harutyunyan told Shoigu that the Armenian side respects its partners' call for resolving the situation peacefully, adding however that Yerevan's position remains unchanged: the Azerbaijani military must abandon the sovereign territory of Armenia without preconditions.

The two also discussed the deployment of joint Armenian–Russian border guards in Syunik and Gegharkunik, as well as the activity of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).