U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo implored Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach a diplomatic solution to the conflict over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where two months of violence continued Tuesday in defiance of a cease-fire brokered in Washington.
While visiting India on Tuesday, Pompeo spoke separately via phone with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev. Pompeo “pressed the leaders to abide by their commitments to cease hostilities and pursue a diplomatic solution," according to a statement from the State Department.
Both countries accused each other Tuesday of attacking targets outside Nagorno-Karabakh after Pompeo brokered a cease-fire with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Their October 24 meeting in Washington was arranged after two failed Russian attempts to broker a cease-fire in the worst outbreak of fighting over the region in more than a quarter-century.
Pompeo has joined other global leaders in pushing for an end to the fighting over the disputed territory. World leaders want to prevent a larger war that involves Turkey, an ally of Azerbaijan, and Russia, which has a defense agreement with Armenia.
The violence is also near pipelines that transport oil and gas from Azerbaijan to global markets.
