State Department Says Russia has Undermined Efforts in the Caucasus
The United States and France vowed on Friday to combine their efforts to end the Artsakh blockade, which they said was “not acceptable.”
France’s Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan in a phone conversation and took stock of the efforts underway to “resolve the conflict and to underline the need for an immediate restoration of free movement along the Lachin corridor,” the French foreign ministry said in a read-out of the call, which also addressed other diplomatic issues between France and the U.S.
“The grave humanitarian consequences of the ongoing blockade of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh are not acceptable and France and the United States are combining their efforts to put an end to this situation, through their contacts between Prime Minister [Nikol] Pashinyan and President [Ilham] Aliyev,” France’s foreign ministry added.
“Promoting peace in the South Caucasus remains an enduring priority for not just this administration, but by Secretary Blinken, in particular, as evidenced by his direct outreach and engagement on these issues directly with leaders in Armenia and Azerbaijan. And this is something that we are going to continue to stay focused on,” said State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel on Friday when asked about Russia’s effort to mediate a meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers.
“As it relates to Russia… The fact is that Russian aggression and unilateralism has undermined a number of lines of efforts, undermined a number of prospects for productive work in the Minsk Group format,” added Patel.
“The U.S. remains firmly committed to engagement on any and all avenues for the promotion of peace, whether that be bilaterally, whether that be through mechanisms within the EU, whether that be via the OSCE… Promoting peace in the South Caucasus remains an enduring priority for us,” said Patel.
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan spoke with Brice Roquefeuil, the French Co-Chair of the OSCE Minks Group on Friday.
The two discussed prospects of establishing security and stability in the region and the efforts made by Armenia and the international community in this direction, Armenia’s foreign ministry said in a press statement.
Mirzoyan also held a telephone conversation with Karen Donfried, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, on Friday.
Regional security issues were discussed during the telephone conversation, according to Armenia’s foreign ministry.
The sides exchanged thoughts on the settlement of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations and the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Mirzoyan reportedly reaffirmed the need to lift the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan as soon as possible and to open the corridor without any preconditions, restoring the normal regime as defined by the trilateral declaration of November 9, 2020.
The U.S. and France on several occasions have called for an immediate end to the Artsakh blockade.
