A U.S.-hosted meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan has begun in Washington as part of an effort to quell tensions over a checkpoint that Baku recently set up on the only road leading to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Before the start of the meeting, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had separate discussions with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov.

Mirzoyan and Blinken discussed issues related to stability and security in the region and the process of regulating relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reports, quoting official government sources.

The meeting between Mirzoyan and Bayramov is to last four days at a State Department facility outside Washington, AFP reported.

Blinken promised continued U.S. support for the peace talks and emphasized the importance of reopening the road, known as the Lachin Corridor, to commercial and private vehicles as soon as possible, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.