WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised Washington support for the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia in separate conversations with the two nations’ leaders over the weekend, while asking for the opening of a route leading to disputed territory.
Washington vows to support Azerbaijan- Armenia peace process
Azerbaijan and Armenia are engaged in a decades-long stalemate, and have also fought two wars over the mountainous area of Nagorno-Karabakh that have left tens of thousands of people dead.
During Blinken’s discussion with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev Sunday, he “expressed the US’s deep concern that the country’s (Azerbaijan) establishment of a checkpoint on the Lachin passage undermines efforts to establish confidence in the peace efforts” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
Azerbaijan had established a checkpoint at the corridor of the Lachin last weekend, which Armenia termed as a breach of the latest truce between the two sides.
The corridor is the only land link between the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave and Armenia.
The US Secretary of State “emphasized the significance of reopening the Lachin corridor to private and commercial vehicles immediately,” the statement said.
Antony Blinken conveyed Washington’s support for the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process to President Aliyev, the spokesperson said.
The day before, he also spoke with PM of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, Miller said.
The US Secretary of State also spoke regarding “the significance of Azerbaijan- Armenia peace talks” and “promised continued Washington support,” Miller maintained.
” Blinken reiterated that direct talks and diplomacy are the only way to a long-term solution.
Russia brokered a ceasefire between the two nations following the latest fighting in 2020 and also deployed peacekeepers along the Lachin corridor.
With Moscow bogged down in Kyiv and unwilling to strain relations with Azerbaijan’s key ally Ankara, Washington and EU have sought to steer a thaw in relations.
