Blinken urges Azerbaijani president and Armenian prime minister for “direct dialogue” on Nagorno-Karabakh

Aug. 5 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, has urged in two telephone calls with the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and with the Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinián, respectively, that they initiate a “direct dialogue” to deal with the situation from the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In this sense, Blinken has called for de-escalation, while stressing that Washington is closely following the new clashes in the region, as stated in a statement by State Department spokesman Ned Price.

The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, also asked his Azeri counterpart this Friday, during a telephone conversation, “to do everything possible to avoid an increase in tension” and to promote negotiations with the Armenian government.

For his part, the US ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Michael Carpenter, has previously urged that “urgent measures be taken to reduce tension and prevent an escalation” of the conflict.

This same Friday, the Armenian authorities have accused the Azeri forces of violating the ceasefire on the Nagorno-Karabakh contact line, as indicated by the Ministry of Defense of the self-proclaimed republic in a statement.

The alert from the Armenian authorities comes after on August 3, two Armenian soldiers and one Azerbaijani soldier died in clashes near the region. In addition, another 19 soldiers were injured, three of whom are in serious condition.