The U.S. Department of State expresses first deep concern about the escalation of violence along the lines of contact that has resulted in significant casualties since July 31st. We certainly extend our condolences to the families of those killed or injured and call on the sides to take - call on all sides to take immediate action to reduce tensions and respect the cease-fire," Jen Psaki, Department of State, said at a daily briefing, commenting on upcoming meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents and the recent upsurge in tension in the NK zone.
"There can be no military solution to this conflict. Retaliation and further violence will only make it more difficult to bring about a peaceful settlement. We remain committed, as a co-chair of the Minsk Group, to helping all sides reach a lasting settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
In terms of the specifics of the meeting, I haven't talked to our team about that specifically.
I'm - we've traditionally been supportive of meetings to have a dialogue about these issues," Ms. Psaki said.
As for the reports that the next round of meetings of the peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia will be taking place in United States, Psaki said: "Well, I'm not - I mean, Russia has also expressed its concerns about the recent violence. I'm not aware that that was formally planned, or it certainly wasn't announced. I can check and see if there was a meeting that was planned or down the road in planning. It may have just been a rumor out there."