U.S. is "alarmed" and "trying" to stop a flare-up between Azerbaijan and Armenia

Washington /28.09.20/Turan: Washington on Sunday weighed in on the Azerbaijan-Armenia clashes, calling for an immediate halt to hostilities and any rhetoric or other actions that could worsen matters” TURAN's U.S. correspondent reports.

"The United States is alarmed by reports of large scale military action along the Line of Contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone that has resulted in significant casualties, including civilians.  We extend our condolences to the families of those killed and injured," the State Department (DoS) stated in a statement, urging that participation in the escalating violence by external parties "would be deeply unhelpful and only exacerbate regional tensions,

Speaking to reporters at the White House Press Briefing Room, President Donald Trump said his Administration is looking into what can be done to stop a flare-up of tensions.

"We are looking at it very strongly. We have a lot of good relationships in that area, we’ll see if we can stop it," he said.

Earlier during the day, deputy secretary of State Stephen Biegun called both Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, to urge the sides to "cease hostilities immediately, to use the existing direct communication links between them to avoid further escalation, and to avoid unhelpful rhetoric and actions that further raise tensions on the ground," according to the DoS statement.

"We urge the sides to work with the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to return to substantive negotiations as soon as possible.  As a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the United States remains committed to helping the sides achieve a peaceful and sustainable settlement to the conflict," reads the statement.

In his turn, U.S. Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden said in a statement that hostilities could escalate into a wider conflict and urged the Trump administration to push for more observers along the ceasefire line and for Russia "to stop cynically providing arms to both sides."

"The United States should be pushing for more observers along the ceasefire line and calling for Russia to stop cynically providing arms to both sides, while reviewing our own security assistance programs to ensure no military capabilities are being repurposed for offensive means," Biden noted.

Later in the day, White House National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien reinstated that there is no military solution to this dispute. "This violence must stop now, before more lives are unnecessarily lost,” he noted.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington DC

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