Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently spoke with Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to ensure support for lasting peace in the South Caucasus' region.
According to a U.S. Department of State news release, Blinken and Pashinyan discussed the need to promote peace in the region. According to the transcript in the release, Blinken offered U.S. support for peace, while lauding their willingness to talk.
"I spoke to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today to reiterate my support for continued efforts to secure peace with Azerbaijan and U.S. willingness to facilitate,” Blinken said in a tweet. "Direct dialogue and diplomacy are the only path to a durable peace in the South Caucasus.”
In a statement posted online, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller noted that Blinken’s conversation was meant to underscore the importance of Armenia-Azerbaijan peace discussions and pledged continued U.S. support.
“Secretary Blinken reiterated that direct dialogue and diplomacy are the only path to a durable peace in the South Caucasus,” Miller said in the news release. “He expressed his appreciation for the prime minister’s continued commitment to the peace process."
In discussions with Aliyev, according to the State Department release, Blinken pledged support for continued peace and voiced his concern over Azerbaijan's formation of a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor. He noted the checkpoint hurts efforts to promote peace and stability and urged Aliyev to quickly reopen the corridor to commercial and private vehicles.
According to the Global Conflict Tracker, Armenia and Azerbaijan have an ongoing dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which led to a six-week conflict three years ago that resulted in the deaths of thousands of people and uprooted tens of thousands more.
The Global Conflict Tracker also noted the strife between the two countries, which dates to the early 20th Century, driving the current unrest between the nations.
