US State Department: Armenia, Azerbaijan FMs’ meetings Tuesday were constructive

Washington is deeply disturbed by the loss of life in Nagorno-Karabakh, and it offers its condolences to the families of all of those who were killed. Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson of the US Department of State, stated about this at Wednesday’s Department press briefing, referring to the latest incident, as a result of which four Armenian servicemen were killed, the VOA Armenian Service reports.

He noted that the US is committed to assisting the Armenian and Azerbaijani parties in achieving peace, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is directly engaged in the peace process.

"Direct dialogue is key to resolving issues and reaching a durable and dignified peace," Patel added.

According to the Principal Deputy Spokesperson of the US Department of State, Tuesday's meetings in the US between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers were constructive.

"And we continue to build on those discussions today and tomorrow as the peace talks continue," he said.

Responding to reporters' questions about the possible freezing or reduction of activity in the negotiation process, as well as the engagement of Louis Bono, Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations of the US Department of State, Patel emphasized that the US Secretary of State and Bono continue to be actively engaged in the process.

"This is something that we’ll continue to remain directly engaged on with these foreign ministers. As you know, the Secretary had the opportunity to meet with them both bilaterally and trilateral yesterday, and we look forward to having these peace talks continue," said the Principal Deputy Spokesperson of the US Department of State.

For his part, Matthew Miller, Spokesperson of US Department of State, also reflected on Wednesday's incident in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"We are deeply disturbed by the loss of life in Nagorno Karabakh. These latest incidents underscore the need to refrain from hostilities and for a durable and dignified peace. The United States is committed to assisting the parties in achieving this goal," Miller tweeted.