YEREVAN. - Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan on Tuesday received the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov, James Warlick, Pierre Andrieu and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.

The latter have visited Armenia in the framework of their subsequent regional visit.

Upon the request of the Co-Chairs, the Defense Minister touched on the military and political aspects of the negotiation process and the situation at the Line of Contact between Karabakh-Azerbaijani opposing forces.

Sargsyan informed that after the military actions in April, Azerbaijan continues to destabilize the situation at the contact line: the number of shots fired is increasing and the scale of the used weapons is growing, all this resulting in new victims.

The Armenian Defense Minster also noted that in terms of recording progress in the negotiation process, Armenia attaches importance to the unconditional observation of ceasefire at the contact line and strengthening of confidence between the opposing sides.

The interlocutors exchanged views on the continuation of the negotiation process based on the agreements achieved by the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in Vienna and St. Petersburg, as well as ways to expand the operational capacities of Ambassador Kasprzyk.

Sargsyan thanked the OSCE Minsk Group French Co-Chair Pierre Andrieu on the productive mediation work carried out in the recent two years, wishing him success in his future work.