The outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden remains committed to facilitating a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan during its remaining time in office, according to a statement by the US State Department.

“We try not to focus on frustrations and are just continuing to do the work,” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Thursday in response to questions about Washington’s inability to secure a settlement.

“This continues to be an area of vital importance to this administration and to Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken, and we’ll continue to work at it till our last day in office,” Patel added, without providing details on upcoming peace initiatives.

Earlier in December, Secretary Blinken proposed organizing another round of talks between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan during an OSCE meeting in Malta. While Yerevan accepted the offer, Baku declined, reportedly criticizing US mediation efforts as “unfair and biased.”