Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers agreed to expedite negotiation talks in a meeting in Washington. The United States organized peace talks between the two countries only a week after a summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met in Washington on November 7.
Bayramov said that he reiterated Azerbaijan’s readiness for a peace deal with Armenia and “urged to refrain from actions that would undermine the process.”
“Direct dialogue is the best way to a truly durable peace, and we are very pleased to support that,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, praising “courageous steps by both countries to put the past behind.” He added that the United States is committed to the peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The two sides have agreed to continue meeting, engaging in direct dialogue and diplomacy in the coming weeks, said the U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price regarding peace talks. “Yesterday was positive in that the two sides met, they surfaced many of their areas of disagreement, at the end of the day they were able to agree on a joint statement,” added Price.
Talks in Russia
The meeting in Washington comes a week after a summit hosted in Russia. In the Russian-mediated joint declaration, both countries agreed:
- not to use force” to resolve their dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh territory
- to settle all disputes solely on the basis of the recognition of mutual sovereignty and territorial integration
- on active preparations from both sides for the conclusion of a peace agreement
- to guarantee lasting and long-term peace in the region
Conflict
The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia is linked to several years old hostilities over control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but was mainly controlled by the majority ethnic Armenian population until 2020.
Earlier in September, at least 286 people were killed on both sides before a U.S.-brokered truce ended the worst clashes since 2020 when continuous tensions escalated into all-out war.
More than 6,500 people were killed in the six-week war in 2020, after which a Russian-brokered cease-fire saw Armenia cede swathes of territory it had controlled for decades.
The conflict has claimed around 30,000 lives since the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991.