Call with Azerbaijani President

On July 25, Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, made a phone call to Ilham Aliyev, the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Press Office of the Azerbaijani President reported.

Noting that the United States supports the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken hailed the meeting and direct dialogue between the foreign ministers of the two countries in Tbilisi. Antony Blinken also pointed out that the United States is ready to open transport connections and communications between Armenia and Azerbaijan and provide technical support in this regard.

President Ilham Aliyev described the meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia held in Tbilisi as the first step toward starting negotiations on a peace treaty between the two countries. The head of state said that Azerbaijan has already formed the composition of its commission on preparing the peace treaty and expects the same step to be taken by Armenia. Touching upon the humanitarian issues, the head of state stated that more than 3,890 Azerbaijanis had been considered missing persons since the first Armenian-Azerbaijani war and highlighted the fact that despite repeated appeals to the Armenian side, no information had been provided on the locations of mass graves. President Ilham Aliyev underlined that the liberated territories of Azerbaijan were mined massively by Armenia, and more than 240 Azerbaijani citizens had died or had their health damaged in mine explosions since the end of the war.

During the conversation, the sides stressed the importance of the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding in the energy field between Azerbaijan and the European Commission.

Call with Armenian Prime Minister

On the same day, Nikol Pashinyan, Armenian prime minister, also had a telephone conversation with Antony Blinken, the Press Office of the Armenian Prime Minister reported.

The interlocutors discussed issues related to the Armenia-U.S. bilateral agenda, as well as the security and stability of the region. In particular, issues related to the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks, the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, the opening of regional communications, the return of captives, and the clarification of the fate of missing persons became the subject of discussion.

Secretary of State Blinken expressed the readiness of the US as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair to support the solutions to all the mentioned issues.

Prime Minister Pashinyan reaffirmed his commitment to the peace agenda and emphasized that the Armenian public supports that course.

The interlocutors also discussed the processes taking place in Armenia-Turkey relations. The Secretary of State welcomed the telephone conversation between the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Turkey this year on July 11 and expressed the readiness of the US to support the normalization of relations between the two countries.

The Armenian PM and the US Secretary of State expressed satisfaction with the high-level contacts between Armenia and the US and agreed to continue the dialogue.

Statement from US

Regarding the call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev Department underlined: “Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today [on July 25] with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The Secretary and President Aliyev discussed Azerbaijan and Armenia’s historic opportunity to achieve peace in the region. The Secretary reiterated the United States’ offer of assistance in helping facilitate the opening of regional transportation and communication linkages. Secretary Blinken encouraged continued bilateral dialogue, such as the recent meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers in Tbilisi. The Secretary also reaffirmed support for productive EU-brokered discussions. He conveyed that the United States has been an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair since 1994 and stands ready to engage bilaterally and with likeminded partners to help Armenia and Azerbaijan find a long-term comprehensive peace. Secretary Blinken also urged President Aliyev to release all remaining Armenian detainees.”

About the telephone conversation with Pashinyan, the US Department of State stated: “Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today [on July 25] with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to discuss Armenia and Azerbaijan’s historic opportunity to achieve peace in the region. The Secretary offered the United States’ assistance in facilitating regional transportation and communication linkages. The Secretary encouraged continued bilateral dialogue and hailed the recent meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers in Tbilisi. He also reaffirmed support for productive EU-brokered discussions and noted that the United States has been an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair since 1994 and stands ready to engage bilaterally and with like-minded partners to help Armenia and Azerbaijan find a long-term comprehensive peace. Secretary Blinken also commended the Prime Minister on the positive momentum and concrete agreements made towards normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey.”

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