The United States is deeply disturbed by the loss of life in Nagorno-Karabakh, Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Vedant Patel said Wednesday, June 28, hours after four Armenian troops were killed in Azerbaijan’s latest artillery and drone attack.

Patel’s remarks came amid a fresh round of negotiations between Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers, which are mediated by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“We offer our condolences to the families of all of those who were killed. These latest incidents underscore the need to refrain from hostilities and for a durable and dignified peace,” Patel said.

“The U.S. is committed to assisting the parties in achieving this goal, and Secretary Blinken is directly engaged in the peace process. Direct dialogue is key to resolving issues and reaching a durable and dignified peace. Yesterday’s meetings with the foreign ministers were constructive, and we continue to build on those discussions today and tomorrow as the peace talks continue. So there’s no change in the schedule. This is going to be something that we’re going to continue to work on.”

Patel said Secretary Blinken is going to be directly engaged on and continues to be directly engaged on the process, as is other members of the American team, including senior advisor for Caucasus negotiations, Lou Bono.

“This is something that we’ll continue to remain directly engaged on with these foreign ministers. As you know, the Secretary had the opportunity to meet with them both bilaterally and trilateral yesterday, and we look forward to having these peace talks continue,” Patel added.