US urges end to violence along Armenian-Azerbaijani border

The United States has condemed the recently reported fighting along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, urging the two countries to refrain from using force to avoid further escalations. 

In a statement released on Monday (July 13), Department of State Spokesperson Morgan Orgatus  also expressed the administration's commitment to help the sides achieve a lasting peace over Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). 

"The United States condemns in the strongest terms the violence along the Armenia-Azerbaijan international border.  We urge the sides to stop using force immediately, use the existing direct communication links between them to avoid further escalation, and strictly adhere to the ceasefire.

"As a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the United States remains strongly committed to helping the sides achieve a lasting, peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We will remain actively engaged in efforts to accomplish that goal.

"The United States joins the Minsk Group Co-Chairs in calling for the sides to resume substantive negotiations as soon as possible and in emphasizing the importance of returning OSCE monitors to the region as soon as circumstances allow," reads the official text of the statement.