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Continued direct dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan is key to reaching a lasting peace, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told a press briefing in Washington on Tuesday.

Referring to the talks between Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov hosted by U.S. Secretary Antony Blinken in Washington on Monday, Price reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to promoting a “peaceful future for the South Caucasus region.”

“We believe that continued direct dialogue is key to resolving issues and to reaching a lasting peace,” the spokesman said.

“What we are doing is trying to create a space and an opportunity for the two sides to come together, to identify their differences – of which there are many – and to attempt to bridge them,” Price noted.

The spokesman highlighted that during the Washington talks Armenia and Azerbaijan “were able to agree to continue meeting and engaging in direct dialogue and diplomacy in the weeks that follow” as a “quite important” move.

“But it is not for us to prescribe what this lasting comprehensive peace between the two countries might look like. We are not presenting them with a document that is ready to sign. We are doing everything we can to help enable the diplomacy that they themselves will need to undertake,” Price said.

The official called a “real step” the fact that the two parties have continued to engage.

“That is actually a step that we hope in the coming weeks will continue to allow the parties to build on the momentum that they have been able to sustain since the outbreak of hostilities. There have, of course, been setbacks. But we believe that if they continue down the path of dialogue and diplomacy, they’ll be able to build on that momentum, they’ll be able to build confidence between them, trust between them, and we will do everything we can to support those processes so that they’re able to reach that comprehensive and lasting peace,” he said.

Asked whether a peace agreement could be signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan by the end of this year, the State Department spokesman said that Washington “will leave that to the parties.”