United States strongly condemns violence along the Azeri-Armenian border

The United States "condemns in the strongest terms" the violence along the Armenia-Azerbaijan international border, the State Department said on Monday.

"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." Morgan Ortagus, Department's spokesperson, said in a statement.

As a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the U.S. "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 statement.

Four Azeri soldiers have been killed, while several Armenians wounded in border clashes, both countries announced over the weekend, and each accusing the other of triggering the escalation.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.