U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan “explained” the meaning of Co-Chair James Warlick's statement made in Yerevan.

Spokesperson for US embassy Nicholas Barnett told APA agency that Washington's policy regarding the format of the OSCE Minsk Group negotiations remains the same.

“By saying Nagorno-Karabakh need to have their voices heard in the negotiations during a press conference in Armenia, The OSCE Minsk Group’s US Co-Chair James Warlick did not mean Nagorno-Karabakh’s participation in the peace negotiations as a third side,” Barnett said.

“It’s a tragedy when innocent civilians become victims of war. It incites me to work to avoid civilian casualties as well as putting an end to the violence, but particularly civilian casualties. These are often innocent men, women and children who are victims. It’s extremely important for both sides to find ways to avoid these kinds of casualties. The incidents on the border are a tragedy. With regard to the defacto authorities in NK, their voice needs to be heard. That is precisely why the Co-Chairs travel to NK on a regular basis to meet with the de-facto authorities”, the statement by US Embassy said.