On September 19, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a phone call to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.
During the telephone conversation, the sides exchanged views on the current situation in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.
The head of state pointed out that the reconnaissance-subversion groups of Armenia’s armed forces in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan had planted mines to perpetrate acts of terror, as a result of which civilians and police officers were killed, and the units of Azerbaijan’s army came under fire from mortars and small arms of various calibers.
President Ilham Aliyev stressed that these actions, including the so-called "presidential elections" in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan on September 9, were a continuation of deliberate provocations against the sovereignty of Azerbaijan by Armenia and the so-called separatist entity established and supported by it.
The President of Azerbaijan said that to prevent such provocative and inciting actions, Azerbaijan had to launch local antiterror measures in the region. The head of state emphasized that during the antiterror measures, civilian population and infrastructure facilities are not being targeted; only legitimate military targets are incapacitated.
The head of state mentioned that representatives of the Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan had on several occasions been invited to dialogue by the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan to discuss reintegration issues, but they rejected it. Nevertheless, they have been invited to a dialogue again as the local antiterror measures continued. The head of state said the antiterror measures will stop once the weapons are laid down and the disarmament happens.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed concern about the situation, called for a ceasefire and said that the United States supports direct dialogue between Baku and representatives of the Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region.
