U.S. 'Concerned' Over Cross Border Shooting Near Lachin, Urges Parties To Refrain From Hostilities

Washington D.C./16.06.23/Turan:  The State Department on Thursday reacted to the latest developments of the cross border shooting that occurred at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border near Lachin.

"We are deeply concerned that gunfire along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border has resulted in further injuries of personnel near Lachin," Spokesperson Matt Miller told TURAN's Washington correspondent.

"We reiterate our statement that all parties should refrain from hostilities along the border, and free and open transit through the Lachin corridor should be restored as the parties work to conclude a durable and dignified peace agreement," the spokesperson noted, adding, "We look forward to reconvening the parties soon."

On Thursday morning, Azerbaijan claimed the checkpoint near Lachin had come under attack, leaving one border guard injured.  Armenia, in its turn, also claimed that one of its border guard was wounded after what it said was an attempt by Azerbaijan to raise its flag "on Armenian territory."

Amid reported incident, Russian peacekeepers and Red Cross convoys had been prevented from crossing through the checkpoint.

The move came just a day after Yerevan reported another incident near the border with Nakhchivan, in which it said two Indian citizens employed at a steel plant under construction with U.S. investment in Armenia, have been injured, which triggered reaction from the State Department.

"We are deeply concerned that two civilian employees of a U.S.-affiliated company in Armenia were injured as a result of shelling from Azerbaijan" Matthew Miller wrote on Twitter.

Aykhan Hajizada, a spokesperson to Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry responded in a tweet, saying: "We deny baseless allegations about targeting civilian workers at the metal smelter plant to be constructed in Armenia. As usual, this is another fabrication by Armenia to mislead the attention from its military provocations on and the negative transboundary impact of the plant."

During a Thursday daily press conference, TURAN's Washington correspondent asked Miller to expand on Washington's concerns over the incident.

"I don't have anything further to offer on that situation other than to say that we remain concerned about the situation. And we continue to urge the two parties to work together to bridge the remaining differences," he said.

Speaking broadly, he added, "we do believe that an agreement is still within reach and we look forward to convening the two parties to move forward."

Renewed bloody clashes on the shared border in recent days reignite concerns that they might threaten to derail U.S.-led peace talks.

The State Department, however, remains hopeful saying that it is still working on scheduling the next round of foreign ministerial in Washington.

As for the new date for the meeting, "I'll make an announcement when we have one to make," Miller said when pressed  by TURAN.

Alex Raufoglu