Agreement 'Within Reach, But Compromise Needed', State Department Says, As Blinken Speaks With Aliyev, Pashinyan

Washington D.C./12.07.23/Turan:     The United States said on Wednesday that it believes a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia is "within reach," but it would involve compromise from both sides, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"We think with a dwindling number of issues to resolve, the agreement’s within reach, but that... of course would involve both parties being willing to compromise," Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesperson, told a daily briefing when responding to TURAN's questions.

"... What we have meant when we say [a peace agreement] is within reach is that they have made significant progress on a number of issues," Miller explained. "Even in the last meeting [of the foreign ministers], they narrowed the number of issues that remain unresolved."

Miller's comments came as the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, spoke with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday to "express continued U.S. support for the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace discussions and the need for creativity, flexibility, and compromise in the negotiations," as the State Department put it in a readout of the call.

"Secretary Blinken underscored the need for free transit of commercial, humanitarian, and private vehicles through the Lachin corridor," reads the readout. "He stressed the need for both parties to keep up positive momentum in talks toward a durable and dignified peace."

Blinken had also spoken with the Armenian Prime Minister a day before, to express continued support for talks and the need for continued direct dialogue.

"Secretary Blinken shared his encouragement for both countries to remain committed to reaching an agreement. He stressed the need to keep up the positive momentum toward a durable and dignified peace," the State Department in a readout of the call with Pashinyan.

When asked by TURAN about the Secretary's latest engagement with the sides, and if any future meeting was planned, Miller said: "No meeting that has been scheduled as of yet, though we do continue to look forward to the next engagement between the [foreign] ministers from both Armenia and Azerbaijan, but I don’t have any update to give."

Alex Raufoglu