WASHINGTON: The United States (US) has hosted negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in an effort to ease tensions over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The area is a majority-Armenian region inside Azerbaijan, and the two sides have gone to war twice, most recently in 2020, leaving tens of thousands dead.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan ahead of four days of negotiations at a State Department facility outside Washington.
The negotiations come after Azerbaijan announced setting up a checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor on 23 April, which Armenia views as a violation of the ceasefire negotiated between the two sides.
Blinken spoke to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev to express concerns about the checkpoint, which he stated “undermines efforts to establish confidence in the ongoing peace process.”
Blinken also emphasized the significance of reopening the Lachin corridor to private and commercial vehicles as soon as possible.
US optimistic for deal to normalize ties
The United States hopes the talks will lead to a deal on the normalization of relations between the two countries rather than a peace treaty.
A US official speaking anonymously said the goal was to ensure the ministers could sit down and talk to each other and that all issues were being discussed. The official added that the talks aim for a “forthright and frank discussion”.
Moscow brokered a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan after the latest bout of fighting in 2020 and posted peacekeeping forces along the Lachin corridor.
With Russia focused on Ukraine and unwilling to strain ties with Azerbaijan’s ally Turkey, the United States and European Union have attempted to steer a thaw in ties.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna visited the two countries last week to try to cool down tensions over the border checkpoint.
In Yerevan, Colonna said that Armenia’s territorial integrity must be respected. Azerbaijan reiterated that it had set up the checkpoint on its own territory.
Colonna encouraged both countries to resume negotiations to reach a resolution to their long-standing conflict. Blinken has already participated in two trilateral meetings with the two Caucasus rivals, in November 2020 and February 2021, and on Saturday spoke with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, stressed the importance of peace discussions and assured continued US support.
