“The United States is deeply concerned by and closely following reports of intensive fighting around Nagorno-Karabakh, including casualties and the loss of life,” Ned Price, the U.S. State Department spokesman, said late on Wednesday. “We urge immediate steps to reduce tensions and avoid further escalation.”
“The recent increase in tensions underscores the need for a negotiated, comprehensive, and sustainable settlement of all remaining issues related to or resulting from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” added Price.
An EU foreign policy spokesman likewise called for an “immediate cessation of the hostilities” that broke out on Wednesday morning and left at least one Azerbaijani and two Karabakh Armenian soldiers dead.
“It is essential to de-escalate, fully respect the ceasefire and return to the negotiating table to seek negotiated solutions,” the official, Peter Stano, said in a statement.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed the situation in the Karabakh conflict zone on Thursday in a phone call that focused on the war in Ukraine.
According to Price, Blinken reiterated Washington’s readiness to “engage bilaterally, with likeminded partners, and through our role as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair to facilitate dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia.”
Blinken held separate phone calls with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on July 25. He said afterwards that he sees a “historic opportunity to achieve peace in the region.”