Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried spoke with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on Monday, March 27 morning and expressed concern over Azerbaijani military movements, Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Vedant Patel told a briefing on Monday.

“She emphasized the U.S.’s commitment to Armenia-Azerbaijan peace negotiations. As the Secretary has also spoke about this quite repeatedly, direct dialogue is key to resolving this issue and reaching a lasting peace,” Patel said.

“There is not a military solution to this conflict. We’ll continue to facilitate discussions between Armenia and Azerbaijan bilaterally as well as with partners, and as well as throughout multilateral organizations as well.”

The Azerbaijani military earlier occupied a hill near the Lachin corridor connecting Karabakh to Armenia, which has been blocked by Azerbaijan for more than three months. Another attempts to advance was curbed by the Karabakh troops.

Since December 12, the sole road connecting Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia - the Lachin Corridor - has been blocked by self-described Azerbaijani environmentalists. Karabakh residents have reported food and fuel shortages, while hospital patients don't have access to essential medicines, with only a handful allowed transfer to facilities in Armenia proper.