Russia and Armenia’s defence ministers spoke on Tuesday morning and agreed to take steps to stabilise the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Armenia’s defence ministry said.

Both Baku and Yerevan blamed each other for the flare-up in tensions overnight – the latest escalation of decades-old hostilities over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Armenia’s defence minister Suren Papikyan said he had spoken to his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu and the pair had “agreed to take necessary steps to stabilise the situation”.

Russia is a key power broker in the region and an ally of Armenia through the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization.

Russia sent thousands of peacekeepers to the region in 2020 as part of a deal to end six weeks of hostilities between the sides which saw Azerbaijan make significant territorial gains.

SOURCE: REUTERS