Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by telephone today, stressing the need for Azerbaijani troops to withdraw from Armenian territory and for Baku to maintain the ceasefire along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.

Pashinyan, according to his office, thanked the U.S. for facilitating a ceasefire along the border following last month’s Azerbaijani aggression.

The two also discussed the creation of an international mechanism to launch direct discussions between Stepanakert and Baku.

Blinken expressed the willingness of the U.S. to facilitate negotiations between Yerevan and Ankara and to contribute to establishing peace and stability in the South Caucasus.