State Department: The meeting in Istanbul was aimed at addressing the humanitarian needs in Artsakh

In response to the query from the Armenian Service of Voice
of America (VOA), the U.S. Department of State confirmed the information that a
few days before the Azerbaijani offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh, U.S., EU
and Russian high-ranking diplomats met in Turkey.

“The meeting held in Istanbul on Sept. 17 was aimed at
addressing the issue of urgent humanitarian needs in Nagorno-Karabakh. The
United States continues to be deeply engaged in the current situation and is
committed to helping the sides reach a lasting peace in the South Caucasus,”
the State Department told VOA.

To remind, yesterday Politico quoted an unnamed high-ranking
diplomat and other officials as saying that EU, U.S. and Russian officials held
secret talks in Istanbul on Sept. 17, two days before the new military
escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to Politico, Senior Advisor for
Caucasus Negotiations Louis Bono negotiated on behalf of the U.S., EU Special
Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar
represented the EU and Russian Foreign Ministry’s Special Representative on
Normalization of Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan Igor Khovaev
negotiated on behalf of Russia.

Before the confirmation from the State Department, the
Russian side had confirmed the information.