On July 12, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a phone call to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

During the phone conversation, Antony Blinken expressed his country's continued support for the discussions on a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and stressed the importance of a creative and compromise-based approach to the negotiation process. Emphasizing the significance of crossing through the Lachin border-customs checkpoint, he touched upon the importance of maintaining the positive dynamics in the negotiations to achieve sustainable peace.

President Ilham Aliyev pointed out Azerbaijan`s commitment to the peace agenda aimed at normalizing relations with Armenia, and underlined that his country, as an initiator of the peace treaty between the two countries, supports its signing.

The head of state lauded Antony Blinken`s and the US government`s continued support for advancing the peace agenda between the two countries, and said that the next high-level meeting with the Armenian side will be held in the coming days.

President Ilham Aliyev highlighted that despite the regular organization of humanitarian cargo, individual crossings and medical evacuation through the Lachin border-customs checkpoint, the armed provocation was committed by Armenia on June 15 and cases of smuggling were detected in humanitarian shipments carried out under the accompaniment of the International Committee of the Red Cross, adding that investigations are being conducted in this regard.