Ned Price
Azerbaijan-Armenia: U.S. Says Noted 'Significant Progress', Pledges Continued Support For Dialogue
Washington D.C./23.02.23/Turan: The State Department on Wednesday stood by its early comments that there has been 'significant progress' over the last several months towards a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia and expressed support for continued engagement, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.
"We are not being Pollyannaish, but we are continuing to support this dialogue, this diplomacy, towards a comprehensive solution in every way we possibly can," Spokesperson Ned Price told a daily press briefing when responding to TURAN"s questions.
Following last week's trilateral meeting between Secretary Antony Blinken, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Munich, the State Department said in its readout that the Secretary "took note of the significant progress the two sides have made over the last several months towards a peace agreement"
TURAN's correspondent asked Price if the Secretary intentionally wanted to sound over-optimistic given recent notable setbacks in the negotiation process.
"He (Secretary Blinken) was reflecting what we’ve seen over the last couple months," Price said in response.
The spokesperson went on to explain, "This has been the result of engagement between the parties. This has been the result of bilateral engagement with the United States, trilateral engagement with the United States, the work that the EU has done in their diplomacy as well, and what we hope to see when the parties come together in Brussels in the coming days in the talks hosted by President Michel of the EU. So, we hope to see a continuation of that progress."
Asked if it was the Secretary's understanding that the sides had been progressing since their Washington meeting last November, Price reiterated that there has been "significant progress that we’ve taken note of."
"We are going to do everything we can to see that progress continue," he concluded.
Alex Raufoglu
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