Washington hopes to see direct Baku-Yerevan dialogue

US State Department Spokesman Ned Price has said that Washington is hoping to see a direct dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

He made the remarks at a regular briefing on January 24, Caliber.Az reports, citing the State Department website.

"We go into it hoping to see direct dialogue – direct dialogue leading to a resolution of the issues that have long divided Armenia and Azerbaijan – and through that dialogue, hopefully reaching a lasting peace. We’re continuing to engage in direct discussions with Armenia and Azerbaijan. We’re doing that bilaterally; we’re doing that with partners; we’re doing that through multilateral institutions. We’ve had an occasion to do that trilaterally a couple of times last year as well. We are going to do what is most effective to bring about a resolution to these very thorny issues," he said.

On January 23, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a phone call to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

"During the conversation, the US secretary of state expressed concern over the situation on the Lachin corridor in the territory of Azerbaijan. Antony Blinken reiterated the US’s commitment to normalisation of the Armenia-Azerbaijan relations and support for the peace treaty talks," Azertag reported.

President Ilham Aliyev said there was no blockade of the Lachin-Khankendi road, adding some 980 vehicles have passed through this road since December 12, 2022, of which over 850 belonged to the Russian peacekeepers and over 120 to the International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC]. Aliyev also underlined about 90 sick persons and those in need of medical assistance had been taken to Armenia by the ICRC. According to President Ilham Aliyev, these facts show that Azerbaijan did not close the Lachin-Khankendi road.

The head of state underlined that illegal operations on the mining sites must be stopped on the Azerbaijani territories where the Russian peacekeepers had been temporarily deployed with the permanent conditions to be created for the monitoring by Azerbaijan. Aliyev drew Blinken’s attention to Armenia’s using the Lachin road for the illegal shipment of mines made in 2021.

He reiterated Azerbaijan’s commitment to the peace process and normalisation of relations with Armenia. The head of state underlined that the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal must include only the normalisation of bilateral relations based on international law and principles, and five principles proposed by Azerbaijan.

President Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan would ensure the rights and security of the Armenian civilians living in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh economic zone on the basis of the Azerbaijani constitution and laws.