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The U.S. has expressed deep concern over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, insisting on the immediate and simultaneous opening of the Lachin and Aghdam routes.

“We are deeply concerned about the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. We repeat our call, as the Secretary did in a statement over the weekend, for the immediate and simultaneous opening of the Lachin and Aghdam routes to allow passage of desperately needed humanitarian supplies to the men and women and children in Nagorno-Karabakh," U.S. Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller told a press briefing on Monday.

He again urged the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders against taking "any actions that raise tensions or distract from this goal."

"And I will say, in addition, we have consistently stressed this need for open – to open routes in Nagorno-Karabakh and for a dialogue between the parties," Miller said. "While it is important that Nagorno-Karabakh have credible representatives for this process, as we have said in the past, we do not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent and sovereign state, and therefore we do not recognize the results of those so-called presidential elections that were announced over the last few days."

"So, I will say that the United States will continue to strongly support efforts by Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve outstanding issues through direct dialogue, and that’s why Secretary Blinken and Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations Lou Bono have been consistently engaged, and we will stay consistently engaged on this question," he added.