U.S. Sec. of State Antony Blinken hosted a trilateral meeting with foreign ministers from Armenia and Azerbaijan Monday in New York, the first direct talks between the rival countries since a recent outbreak of fighting.
DOS Spokesperson Ned Price stated in the announcement of the meeting with Armenia's Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijan's Jeyhun Bayramov that Blinken shared condolences for the lives lost in the recent hostilities, and stressed the importance of preventing further conflict and resuming peace talks.
"We’re encouraged by the fact that the fighting has ceased and there have not been any additional military actions over the last ... few days," Blinken said at the meeting, according to a transcript of his remarks released by the DOS. Blinken said that in his most recent phone conversations with Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, "both leaders told me that they are ready for peace."
Both nations blame the other for days of shelling in the Nagorno-Karabakh region last week that killed 200 troops from both sides and was the largest outbreak of combat in two years, the Associated Press reports.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been in a decades-long conflict over control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. In 2020, a six-week war between the countries resulted in Azerbaijan reclaiming large areas of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent territories held by Armenian forces, the AP reported. More than 6,700 people died in that conflict.
The latest peace talks held by Blinken worked towards strengthening the tentative ceasefire agreed upon by both countries on Sept. 14. According to AP News, the ceasefire came nearly a day after a previous ceasefire brokered by Russia failed.
“Strong, sustained diplomatic engagement is the best path for everyone. There is no military solution to the differences between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But there is, I think, a path to a durable peace that resolves the differences through diplomacy,” Blinken said in his remarks.
“The United States is prepared to do whatever it can to support these efforts," Blinken said. "And I’m grateful to both of my colleagues for being here today to pursue this conversation.”
