Washington is ready to contribute to reaching a compromise between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the issue of defining the state border. This was announced on Tuesday, May 24, in the press service of the US State Department.
“Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke today with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. They discussed the positive momentum towards peace in the South Caucasus. Blinken offered United States assistance in border delimitation and demarcation efforts and called for progress in developing regional transport and communications links.
It is noted that the head of the State Department recalled the readiness of the United States to support the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations and, as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, to cooperate with foreign partners to achieve a “long-term and comprehensive peace” between Baku and Yerevan.
Advertising
Earlier on Tuesday, the Deputy Prime Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met for the first time in the format of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Commission on Border Delimitation and Security. The parties discussed organizational and procedural issues of joint activities. It is noted that the second meeting will be held in Moscow, the third – in Brussels.
On May 22, it became known that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and head of the European Council Charles Michel agreed in Brussels to start the work of the Armenian-Azerbaijani commission on border delimitation. During the trilateral meeting, issues related to preparations for the negotiation process on the normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan, humanitarian problems and the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were discussed.
On April 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin held telephone conversations with the Prime Minister of Armenia. The political leaders stressed the importance of the agreements on the signing of a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the start of work on the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
On April 7, Pashinyan and Aliyev instructed the foreign ministers of the republics to begin preparations for peace talks.
In November 2020, with the participation of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. The document, among other things, provided for the introduction of Russian peacekeepers into the region, the exchange of prisoners of war and the transfer by Armenia to Azerbaijan of a number of regions of the region.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have disputed ownership of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. Then the region, which is inhabited mainly by Armenians, announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan SSR. During the military conflict of 1992-1994, Baku lost control over Karabakh. In September 2020, Baku took control of a number of settlements during military operations.