The U.S. is deeply concerned about gas disruptions and Azerbaijan’s troop movements in Nagorno-Karabakh, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried said in a statement after phone calls with the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers, Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov.

"Armenia and Azerbaijan need to use direct communications channels to immediately deescalate," the Donfried said in a tweet on Friday, March 25.

On Thursday, Azerbaijan has used drones to launch an offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh, capturing a village and positions nearby and injuring one Armenian soldier. Lengthy negotiations of the Russian peacekeeping troops and the relevant bodies of Artsakh did not yield significant results, and the Azeris did not return to the starting positions.

According to information provided by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Mirzoyan briefed Donfried on the situation created as a result of Azerbaijan's violation of the Nagorno-Karabakh contact line and the infiltration to the Parukh village of Artsakh. The Minister stressed that Azerbaijan grossly violates its obligations of the Trilateral Statements, endangering regional stability and peace. He also touched upon the actions of Azerbaijan towards targeting civilian population and exerting psychological pressure, deliberately disrupting the normal operation of vital infrastructure in order to create a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Mirzoyan stressed that the above-mentioned actions are vivid manifestations of Azerbaijan's policy of ethnic cleansing and Armenophobia. In this regard, the Minister stressed the need for a targeted and clear response from the international community, including the United States.

During the phone conversation, the Foreign Minister also presented the position of the Armenian side regarding the launch of negotiations on the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.