YEREVAN. - Armenia’s Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan today received the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, Ambassador Herbert Salber.

The Minister briefed Mr Salber on the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the Line of Contact between the Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijani Armed Forces. He also stressed the sharp increase of tension in the recent months and the aggression of the Azerbaijani side toward the civilians in Armenian villages, as a result of which many of them are dying. Ohanyan confirmed the necessity to implement measures aimed at enhancing trust on the Line of Contact, as well as creating mechanisms for incident investigation. He also urged the international institutions to make targeted statements.

For his part, Herbert Salber expressed concern over the increase in the number of incidents. The Ambassador stressed that the conflict can’t be resolved by military means and that the EU acknowledges the leading role of the OSCE Minsk Group in resolving the conflict. He also said that the EU is ready to contribute to the negotiation process in the framework of its capacities.