Russian & Azerbaijani defense ministers talk on the phone amid Baku’s tensions with Armenia

Russia’s defense minister Sergey Shoigu and his Azeri counterpart Zakir Hasanov have discussed the situation in the Southern Caucasus during a phone call, Russia's Ministry of Defense has said.

The talks come after almost a week of border clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which have left more than a dozen dead on both sides, according to various estimates. Moscow had earlier offered to become a mediator in peace talks between the two former Soviet republics.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have remained tense since the early 1990s, when Nagorno-Karabakh, a large Armenian-populated enclave inside Azerbaijan, declared independence from Baku.

The two ministers also addressed the upcoming Army-2020 military-technical expo, to be held in the Moscow Region next month.