Friday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to "end violence and protect civilians" in the separatist Nagorno Karabakh region, which has been witnessing bloody fighting for three weeks.

Separately, Pompeo met with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jihon Permov, and then the Armenian, Zahrab Manatsakyanian, at the State Department's headquarters in Washington. There was no tripartite meeting.
The State Department said that Pompeo "stressed the need to end violence and protect civilians."

Pompeo reiterated his country's desire to resolve the conflict "without resorting to force or threatening to use it, (and by respecting) territorial integrity and the right to equality and self-determination."

Since the start of hostilities on September 27 in the mountainous region of Azerbaijan controlled by Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan, Armenia and Azerbaijan have traded accusations of targeting civilians.

Permov confirmed that he had asked Pompeo to put an end to Armenia's "occupation" of Nagorno Karabakh.

"We are committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict, and we are ready to resume serious negotiations immediately," the Azerbaijani foreign minister said in a statement.

"Armenia must stop avoiding important negotiations and choose permanent peace," he added.

Mnatsakyanian accused Baku of causing violence and Turkey of being directly involved in the conflict "through military technical support (and) sending military terrorists to the region."

Small groups of protesters in support of Armenia and Azerbaijan clashed with slogans and banners outside the US State Department, and one of the security personnel was standing between them.

Prior to the talks, Pompeo did not raise expectations, pointing out that previous ceasefire agreements had not held.

The United States, like Russia, intensified calls for a ceasefire in the Nagorno Karabakh region, which is inhabited by an Armenian majority, and declared its separation from Azerbaijan with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and the beginning of the nineties broke out a war that left 30 thousand people dead.

Washington is part of the joint presidency of the Minsk Group, with Moscow and Paris. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe established this group as the primary mediator in the conflict.

Russia is currently at the forefront of efforts to find a diplomatic solution to stop the ongoing hostilities that have left about 5,000 people dead, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.