US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to engage in “direct dialogue” to resolve outstanding issues between the two countries over Nagorno-Karabakh.
In a telephone conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev yesterday, Friday, Blinken called for “de-escalation” and renewed his call for “direct dialogue” to resolve issues related to the Karabakh region, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
This happened against the backdrop of a statement by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry on Wednesday that the Azerbaijani army launched an operation against “illegal Armenian formations” in the Karabakh region.
In its statement, the ministry noted that “a serviceman of the Azerbaijani army received a martyr’s death as a result of a sabotage and terrorist act by illegal Armenian formations in areas temporarily under the control of Russian forces (separation forces).”
On September 27, 2020, the Azerbaijani army launched an operation to liberate its occupied lands in the Karabakh region after the attack of the Armenian army on peaceful settlements.
After fierce fighting lasting 44 days, on November 10, 2020, Russia announced that Azerbaijan and Armenia had reached a ceasefire agreement providing for the restoration of Baku’s control over the occupied territories.
Source: Anatolia