Russian, Azerbaijani Defense Ministers Discuss Situation In South Caucasus

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Zakir Hasanov, talked about the current situation in South Caucasus during a phone call on Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th July, 2020) Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Zakir Hasanov, talked about the current situation in South Caucasus during a phone call on Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"On July 18, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu had a phone conversation with Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Asker oglu Hasanov ... They touched upon issues related to the general situation in Transcaucasia," the statement read.

The region includes Armenia and Azerbaijan, which have been uneasy neighbors since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Tensions between the two escalated into a series of deadly border clashes this week.

The ministers also discussed a snap military drill in Russia's west and south that began on Saturday at the order of President Vladimir Putin. A military-diplomatic source told Sputnik earlier that Shoigu assured his Azerbaijani counterpart the exercise was unrelated to the recent skirmishes.