U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has expressed hope that the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan can be moved to the negotiating table.

"I spoke to Prime Minister [Nikol] Pashinyan of Armenia and President [Ilham] Aliyev of Azerbaijan last night; pretty early in the morning for them," Blinken told reporters on Tuesday, September 13.

"We’d seen the outbreak of hostilities again, something that is in no one’s interest. It’s not in the interest of the people of Azerbaijan, it’s not in the interest of the people of Armenia, it’s certainly not in the interest of the larger region. And I spoke to both, urged them to do everything possible to pull back from the conflict and to get back to talking about building a lasting peace between their countries.

"We have our special envoy in the region right now working with both countries. I’ll be in close touch with them going forward, and my hope is that we can move this from conflict back to the negotiating table and back to trying to build a peace."

Also Tuesday, Department of State spokesperson Ned Price said that the United States has seen significant evidence of Azerbaijani shelling inside Armenia and significant damage to Armenian infrastructure.

The Armenian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday morning that the situation on the border remained tense, with the Azerbaijani military continuing to shell the Armenian positions and civilian homes. Photos published online show damage to residential buildings in villages situated the closest to the border. 49 Armenian servicemen have been confirmed dead.