Armenian FM, U.S. assistant secretary of state discuss steps toward de-escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh - Armenian Foreign Ministry

YEREVAN. March 25 (Interfax) - Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and United States Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried discussed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh during a telephone call.

"The parties addressed aspects of regional security. The minister stressed that Azerbaijan is grossly violating the obligations set out in the trilateral statements, putting regional stability and peace at risk, and pursuing ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh," the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.

Mirzoyan has urged the international community, including the U.S., to react, the ministry said.

"The parties spoke of the need to de-escalate the situation," it said.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces violated the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh within the responsibility area of the Russian peacekeeping mission and occupied the village of Parukh in the Askeran province of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh republic.