“Armenia and Azerbaijan would both benefit from moving forward in the Minsk Group process,” Philip H. Gordon, U.S. Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs stated at a briefing, U.S. State Department reports.

“I think we’ve seen in some of the violence that has appeared in the region lately that we can’t take stability for granted. And the Secretary will have a chance in both countries to underscore what the presidents said in Toronto the other day,” he said.

On June 26, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, U.S. President Barack Obama, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a statement on Nagorno-Karabakh. “We reaffirm our commitment to support the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan as they finalize the Basic Principles for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” the statement reads.

On June 18, an Azeri reconnaissance detachment intruded into Nagorno-Karabakh, killing 4 Armenian soldiers and wounding 4 others. As a result of an encounter, the Azeris retreated, leaving one soldier killed.