On November 27, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken called President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the Press Office of the Azerbaijani President reported.

During the telephone conversation, President Ilham Aliyev said that the latest statements and actions taken by the US have seriously damaged Azerbaijan-US relations. The head of state noted that the remarks about Azerbaijan, made by the US Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien at the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Europe hearing on November 15, 2023, were biased, failed to reflect reality, and were rejected by Azerbaijan.

"It was emphasized that the Azerbaijani side took note of the statement about canceling the senior-level engagements with Azerbaijan and no chance of business as usual and responded adequately. President Ilham Aliyev reminded that Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on this matter on November 16 and that Azerbaijan had, in turn, canceled all senior-level visits from the US," the report noted.

With the aim of normalization of relationship, Secretary Blinken has asked to allow the visit of the US Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien in December to Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev has agreed to this proposal on the condition that after this visit, the unfounded ban on the visits of Azerbaijani high-level officials to the United States will be lifted. Secretary Blinken has accepted that.

"Furthermore, it was stated that on November 21, Armenia sent its comments about Azerbaijan’s proposals on the text of the peace treaty, which was submitted on September 11, 2023. Thus, Armenia has delayed its response for 70 days. 70-day long delay demonstrates again that Armenia misuses the text of the peace treaty as a pretext for the prolongation of the negotiations process," the information stated.

During the telephone conversation, the sides also exchanged views concerning the upcoming meeting of the Commissions on the delimitation of the state borders, which will take place on November 30 at the Azerbaijan-Armenia conditional border.

US Assistant Secretary Envisions New Trade Opportunities in Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace

During a briefing on the eve of November 27, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien stated that one of the advantages of the future peace treaty between Yerevan and Baku may be the creation of trade routes from Central Asia to Turkey via Armenia and Azerbaijan. 

"With respect to the South Caucasus, we see a real opportunity for Azerbaijan and Armenia to make peace. We are encouraged that both sides are dialoguing, both directly and through mediators. And because of that, we see a real opportunity for the entire region to benefit," the US diplomat said.

He said a trade route from Central Asia could run through Azerbaijan and Armenia to Turkey, which would be a significant boost for all countries in the region. "And we would welcome the opportunity to be part of that. At the same time, if the decision is made not to pursue that through peaceful means, we will have to use whatever tools we can to avoid creating that kind of trade route," a State Department official warned.