The United States anticipates that Armenia and Azerbaijan will make “tough compromises” for an eventual signing of a peace treaty between the two countries.
“We [the U.S.] do think a deal is possible, but it requires both sides to make some difficult choices and tough compromises, and so what we’re going to do is continue to push them to resolve those final differences and reach an agreement,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a press briefing on Monday.
Miller was responding to a reporter’s question about whether there were details from a meeting Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhum Bayramov, on the margins of the NATO Summit in Washington last week.
Following the meeting last week, Yerevan and Baku issued similar statements, saying that the foreign ministers pledged to continue negotiations about a peace deal, without providing specifications on the topics discussed.
The U.S. has been pushing Yerevan and Baku to sign a deal quickly, with an emphasis that such a peace deal would benefit not only the region’s security, but also commerce. Several senior U.S. officials have traveled to Armenia in recent weeks, expressing U.S. support for a peace deal and touting its economic benefits.
“The two parties [Armenia and Azerbaijan] have made incredible progress and they have come a long way. And so what we continue to do is push them,” Miller added, saying that he did not want to give more details than what was officially said after last week’s talks.
“A peace agreement between those countries would mean so much for those countries and it would mean so much for the region – for peace, stability, for security in the region,” Miller said.
Before the meeting with Mirzoyan and Bayramov last week, Blinken praised Yerevan and Baku for their commitment to the talks.
“Over the last year, year and a half, Armenia and Azerbaijan have done very important work toward negotiating and concluding a peace agreement – one that is durable, one that is dignified, and one that would open extraordinary possibilities for both countries, the region that they share, and for their relationship with the United States,” Blinken told reporters before his meeting last week.
He added that talks he was hosting were an opportunity to take stock in the progress that’s been made, what remains. But based on all of the engagements that we’ve had, including in recent weeks, I believe both countries are very close to being able to reach a final agreement, one that the United States would strongly, strongly support.”
After the meeting in Washington, Miller said that Blinken had “discussed the progress made toward a durable and dignified peace agreement and encouraged further steps to finalize a deal as soon as possible.”
“The Secretary also emphasized the importance of peace in promoting regional connectivity, which would benefit the entire South Caucasus region,” Miller said last week.
