YEREVAN. – On Thursday evening, defense minister Suren Papikyan of Armenia had a telephonic conversation with his Russian counterpart, Army General Sergey Shoygu, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Papikyan presented the latest developments in the Askeran region of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in connection with the violation of the line of contact by the units of the Azerbaijani armed forces and the volatile situation created as a result. The Armenian defense minister stressed the need for these Azerbaijani military units to return to their initial positions.

Shoygu, for his part, assured that the situation is in the center of the Russian side's attention and necessary steps are being taken to resolve it peacefully.

The Azerbaijani armed forces advanced in the direction of Parukh and Khramort villages of the Askeran region of Artsakh. According to a statement issued by the Artsakh Info Center, the movement of these Azerbaijani armed forces has been suspended, but they have not yet returned to their initial positions.

And Khramort village mayor Zorik Abrahamyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am that everything is as normal in Khramort, and under their control.