UN secretary general's deputy Oscar Fernandez-Taranco and US Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Desai Biswal have expressed concern over the violence in Bangladesh and stressed the need for peaceful de-escalation of the situation.

They discussed the matter at a meeting in Washington DC on Wednesday afternoon, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, told a press briefing in New York on Thursday afternoon.

Earlier, Taranco was assigned by the UN secretary general to liaise with the government and opposition leaders in Bangladesh.

“That is something he is doing,” the spokesman said.

“And the Secretary-General is obviously personally committed to the stability of and development in Bangladesh, and we continue to deplore the loss of life.  And I think the key message is for a peaceful and… peaceful resolution to the ongoing crisis,” he added.

Both Taranco and Biswal visited Bangladesh ahead of the January 5 general election last year, but they could not bring out any breakthrough as the major political parties had stuck to their guns on issue of election-time government.

They held a series of talks with the Awami League and BNP leaders.

Taranco came to Dhaka on December 6, 2014, and stayed here for six days. Although he succeeded in getting the AL and the BNP leaders to sit for two rounds, it did not bring forth any result.

He left the country leaving a note for Bangladeshi leaderships that the solution has to be a homegrown one. “I firmly believe there's a ground for an agreement … Bangladesh leaders must continue to come together. I encouraged both sides to continue the dialogue in the spirit of goodwill and compromise,” the UN assistant secretary general told reporters after wrapping up his six-day hectic tour at that time.

Dozens of lives have been lost in violence since the BNP-led opposition combine announced an indefinite blockade on January 5 this year. The UN, United States, European Union, United Kingdom and Canada have deplored the violence against innocent people and reiterated call for dialogue to break the current political crisis.

India said it would not interfere in the internal matters of Bangladesh and hoped that the people and the government of Bangladesh would resolve the issues themselves.