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

18 Jul, 2020 13:34 / Updated 4 years ago

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.