State Department: U.S.is concerned about continued attacks along Armenia-Azerbaijan border

YEREVAN, September 15, /ARKA/. ‘We are deeply concerned about continued attacks along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. We’ve seen continued attacks now for a second straight day. We are particularly disturbed by continued reports of civilians being harmed inside Armenia,’ said Ned Price, spokesman for US Department of State, at a press briefing.

He said also that Secretary Blinken, shortly after hostilities broke out earlier this week, had an opportunity overnight to speak to the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan and conveyed United States’ deep concern over military actions along their shared border, including reports of shelling inside Armenia.

He said Blinken urged President Aliyev of Azerbaijan to cease hostilities immediately, to disengage military forces, to pull forces back from the border, and to cease hostilities that could endanger civilians, and to work to resolve all outstanding issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan through peaceful negotiations.

‘We’ve made clear, in this context and before, to both leaders and at all levels that there can be no military solution to this dispute. And we’ve urged both sides to refrain from further military hostilities and to engage in dialogue and diplomacy. For our part, we do remain deeply engaged. Ambassador Reeker, who is our senior advisor for Caucasus negotiations, he is still in Baku. He met yesterday, on September 13th and Wednesday, today, with senior Azerbaijani leaders. Ambassador Reeker met with President Aliyev yesterday in Baku. Assistant Secretary Donfried of our Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs spoke earlier this afternoon with Foreign Minister Bayramov of Azerbaijan. And we remain committed to doing all we can to promote a peaceful and prosperous future for the South Caucasus,’ Price said..

Asked about Turkey’s role in the latest Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia and Turkey’s president Erdoğan’s comment that there might be consequences for Armenia, Ned Price said  Secretary Blinken, Ambassador Reeker, Assistant Secretary Donfried, others in her bureau have had a number of conversations, including with Armenia and Azerbaijan, but with other concerned stakeholders and partners.

“Not in a position to detail all of those engagements, but as I said yesterday, we are going to remain deeply engaged in the diplomacy. We are prepared to do all we can on a bilateral basis, on a multilateral basis, to see to it that these hostilities come to an end and that tensions are de-escalated,’ Price said.-0-