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In the recent phone calls with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered his continued support on the U.S. assistance in facilitating bilateral peace talks between the two countries, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told a press briefing on Tuesday.

His comments came in response to a request to clarify the State Department readouts of Blinken’s calls with both Yerevan and Baku.

“You said he called them to offer continued U.S. assistance in facilitating peace discussions. I was – I thought that’s what you guys were doing. You had last week a senior advisor in the region was engaging with the sides. Why would the Secretary make that call to ask for U.S. – facilitation,” the reporter asked.

“He was offering his continued support on the U.S. assistance in these engagements, which as you know is something that we have remained quite committed on. Obviously through Secretary Blinken’s commitment to this issue, when Ambassador Reeker was leading this portfolio through his work, and now through the work of Lou Bono as well,” Vedant explained.

Asked whether Blinken raised human rights issues during the phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the spokesman said: “I don’t have specifics to get into about the diplomatic engagements beyond what was in the readout. But of course, human rights is something that we raise regularly with all our partners, including those in the South Caucasus.”

In a tweet on his phone call with Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Monday, Blinken said he reiterated the U.S. commitment to “helping Armenia and Azerbaijan reach a sustainable peace.”

“Diplomacy is the only way to peace in the South Caucasus,” he stated.