Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan received Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Igor Khovaev on Monday, the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry reported.

The sides discussed the situation resulting from Azerbaijan’s violation of the line of contact with Nagorno-Karabakh and the incursion near the village of Parukh in the area of responsibility of Russian peacekeeping contingent, which started on March 24. They touched upon other actions of the Azerbaijani side aimed at creating a humanitarian crisis in Artsakh, targeting the civilian population and subjecting them to ethnic cleansing.

The need for the return of the units of the Azerbaijani armed forces to their starting positions of March 23 was stressed.

Minister Mirzoyan presented the position of the Armenian side on launching negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on a peace agreement within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship. The importance of the full-fledged work of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship was reaffirmed,” the statement reads.