American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, talked with the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinian, about the steps that would restart the bilateral talks with Azerbaijan. 

This meeting comes at a time of escalating tensions between Yerevan and Baku due to the blockade on the only road connecting Armenia with the breakaway region of Nagorno-Krabakh. 

"Blinken expressed deep concern about the worsening humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh that has resulted from the blockade of the Lachin Corridor," the US State Department said in a statement. 

"He also reaffirmed the commitment of the US to support efforts leading to a long-term peace and to strengthening our bilateral relations", DASH added. 

The phone conversation between Blinken and Pashinian comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin is ready to send a Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) mission to the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. 

This organization also includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Yerevan insists that the CSTO condemn Azerbaijan's actions. He also accuses the Azerbaijani Government of supporting the protesters, who have been identified as environmental activists, who since last month have been blocking the Lachin corridor. 

Armenia has said that blocking this road is a violation of the agreement brokered by Russia in November 2020, which stopped the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan, countries that have been fighting for decades over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts. 

Nearly 7,000 people on both sides died from the war in 2020. The war ended after Baku regained control of much of the region and seven counties that had been under the control of ethnic Armenians for three decades. 

According to the ceasefire agreement, 2,000 peacekeeping troops were deployed in this area to monitor the situation. Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of taking control of tens of square kilometers of sovereign Armenian territory through a series of incursions since May 2021. Azerbaijan denies the allegations. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.