U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that Azerbaijan’s military actions are unacceptable and run counter to the efforts aimed at finding a just and dignified peace in the region.

“I had the opportunity this week to speak to both leaders – Prime Minister [of Armenia Nikol] Pashinyan, President [ofAzerbaijan Ilham] Aliyev. And what I expressed to both is our deep concern about the actions this past week, particularly Azerbaijan’s military actions.And as a general proposition, for the United States we want to make clear that the use of force is unacceptable and it runs counter to the efforts that we’ve been engaged in – but more important, both countries have been engaged in – to find a just and dignified peace in the region,” Blinken told a press conference on Saturday, September 22.

“This is something that’s manifestly in the interests of both Azerbaijan and Armenia.Both have invested in it, including President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan.And this is something that we’ve worked to support along with the European Union.So the actions that we saw this week simply run counter to that effort, and that kind of just and durable peace that we’re working toward would be a tremendous benefit to both countries, to the region, and also, I think, a strong change for the better in the current of history after 30 years of conflict.”

Blinken said he was also deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation for the population inside Nagorno-Karabakh, and the imperative of having unimpeded access for humanitarian organizations to reach populations in need is also front and center in our thinking.

“So we’ve been in close touch with all sides – we’ve been in close touch with the European Union as well – to try to move this back to a better place. There have been conversations just over the last 24 hours involving Baku, involving those representing ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. And moving back to talking, negotiating, diplomacy is where we want to drive this,” he added.

On September 19, Azerbaijan launched a full-scale offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh, killings and injuring hundreds, including civilians. On September 20, the authorities ov Nagorno-Karabakh agreed to a ceasefire on Azerbaijan’s terms, including the dissolution of the Defense Army.