U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price, referring to yesterday’s Azerbaijani attack on an Artsakh police van, said there is no military solution to the Karabakh conflict.

“The only way to sustain peace is at the negotiating table and to – and the use of force undermines negotiations,” Price said during a March 6 press briefing.  

He referred to the visit of U.S. Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations Lou Bono to the region to facilitate direct dialogue and diplomacy between Yerevan and Baku.

Bono met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku yesterday and travelled to Yerevan today for meetings with Armenian officials.

“We are prepared – whether bilaterally, trilaterally, multilaterally – to continue to be a partner in furtherance of efforts to secure a lasting peace,” Price said. 

Price said Western attempts to facilitate the normalization of relations between Yerevan and Baku should not be seen in opposition to the mediation of Moscow in the region.

“We are doing this to bring about the settlement and resolution of a longstanding dispute between these two countries, and unfortunately a dispute that has consistently taken lives, just as it did on March 5th.  Our interest here is in peace and security.  It’s in the interests of the people of Armenia and Azerbaijan as well,” Price said.