Azerbaijan-Armenia: U.S. Hails 'Progress' As Ministers To Wrap Up Talks Today

Washington D.C./04.05.23/Turan:  The White House on Wednesday welcomed 'the progress' Armenia and Azerbaijan have made in peace talks, and encouraged continued dialogue, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a tweet that it was "good to host" Armenia's Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov at the White House, adding a sustainable and just agreement "will be key to unlocking opportunities for both countries and the region."

The move came as both ministers are expected to wrap up their four-days-long talks outside Washington today.

As TURAN reported earlier, Secretary of Antony Blinken will participate in the bilateral peace negotiation closing session with his Azerbaijani and Armenian colleagues late this evening, Baku time.

In the meantime Vedant Patel, the State Department on Wednesday refrained from characterizing the state of the dialogue at that point when pressed by TURAN's correspondent during a daily briefing.

"... I’m just not going to get ahead of these talks or these processes," Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson, said,  "What I will note is that – and this is not something you’re disfamiliar with, because it’s something that the Secretary has been deeply engaged on – is that we believe that peace between these two countries is possible," he added immediately.

Patel went on to continue, "We believe that there is not a military solution to this; we believe that direct dialogue through diplomacy is an integral path forward. And that’s why we’re very pleased to host these two foreign ministers at the Foreign Service Institute to participate and take on these very important discussions."

Secretary Blinken and others across the State Department "have been deeply engaged on this, and we’ll look forward to watching the process closely," Patel concluded.

Alex Raufoglu