The US is looking forward to hosting another round of Armenian-Azerbaijani talks in Washington soon as the parties continue to pursue a peaceful future in the South Caucasus region. Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson of the US Department of State, noted this at Wednesday’s Department press briefing.

"We continue to believe direct dialogue is key to resolving issues and reaching a durable and dignified peace," Patel added.

Reflecting on the frequency of firing by Azerbaijan in the direction of the sovereign territory of the Armenia in recent days, US Department of State deputy spokesperson noted that the US believes that the “steps that are going to incite tensions and elevate tensions are certainly unproductive right now as talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan are proceeding in different venues.”

“And so we’ll continue to engage on this and look forward to hosting another round of talks very soon,” Patel added.

With respect to Russia's critical assessment of the mediating role of the US in the Armenia-Azerbaijan talks, US Department of State deputy spokesperson said the following: "If Russia thinks that they can play a constructive role in this, certainly they are welcome to. But we continue to feel that these talks are progressing, they’re proceeding. The United States has been an important partner in this. The [US] Secretary [of State] personally has been engaged on this."

Also, Patel recalled all the high-level meetings with the participation of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“And we also continue to think that dialogue can’t be replaced in this process,” added the US Department of State deputy spokesperson.