U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed the U.S.'s support for Armenia's democratic reforms and efforts to ensure peace and stability in the region during a recent phone call with the nation's prime minister, the Department of State (DOS) has announced.
Sec. Blinken spoke by phone with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on May 24, according to the announcement released at that time by DOS spokesperson Ned Price. The two leaders discussed the constructive progress toward peace in the South Caucasus region, on the border of eastern Europe and western Asia. Blinken also offered U.S. help with demarcation efforts and border delimitation, according to the announcement.
Sec. Blinken confirmed the call in a social media post on May 25.
"I spoke with @NikolPashinyan yesterday about how the United States supports the positive momentum in Armenian discussions with Azerbaijan and Turkey. The United States will continue to engage to help the South Caucasus find peace," Sec. Blinken posted on Twitter May 25.
During his phone conversation with the Armenian P.M., Blinken advocated for development of regional communication and transportation links, the DOS reports. The Secretary also encouraged the continuation of bilateral talks between leaders in the South Caucasus to find solutions to regional challenges, the statement reports, and reiterated the U.S.'s backing for EU-brokered dialogue between Pashinyan and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev.
"Secretary Blinken reaffirmed U.S. readiness to help by engaging bilaterally and with likeminded partners," DOS spokesperson Price wrote in the announcement, "including through our role as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair, to help Armenia and Azerbaijan find a long-term comprehensive peace."
Earlier in May, Sec. Blinken welcomed Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan to the White House to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on nuclear cooperation, the DOS announced May 2, the day of the ceremony.
In his welcoming remarks, Sec. Blinken said restarting strategic dialogue between the U.S. and Armenia, suspended by the COVID-19 pandemic, was a "big part" of the meetings, and that signing the Memorandum "opens new cooperative paths and, I think, can also serve to strengthen very much the bilateral relationship between us."
"I just want to take this opportunity as we’re sitting here to, in the first instance, praise the leadership of the prime minister and his government, the democratic reforms that they’ve been pursuing, the progress that continues to be made," Sec. Blinken said at the signing ceremony.
He praised the efforts of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the transcript records, and stated "real appreciation for the vision and the courage and the flexibility that the prime minister and Armenia have been showing in this process working toward what we all want, which is a lasting peace.
The U.S. and Armenia have been in a bilateral partnership since Armenia's independence in 1991; the U.S. opened its first embassy there in 1992, and the two nations signed an agreement "on provision of U.S. humanitarian and technical economic assistance," USAid reported in July 2021.
Armenia’s borders are closed with Turkey and Azerbaijan, two of the four countries that share a border, because of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, the USAid report states. Sec. Blinken has been in contact with Pashinyan, to assist with peace talks between Armenia and Turkey and Azerbaijan, according to the report.
Armenian Foreign Minister Mirzoyan praised the two countries' relationship at the signing ceremony, the DOS transcript records.
"This year we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries," Mirzoyan said, "and during these years we have succeeded to build very strong relations based on common and shared values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law."
