Peace In Karabakh 'Continues To Be Of Great Importance To Secretary Blinken', State Department Says

The State Department said on Thursday that it continues "to be deeply engaged" in the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"Ensuring a cessation of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan, specifically in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, continues to be of great importance to Secretary Antony Blinken" Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said when asked by TURAN about this week's diplomatic engagements with Baku and Yerevan.

U.S. Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations Louis Bono, as well as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Erika Olson have been traveling separately in the region this week.

When asked about details of talks in Baku and Yerevan, Patel said he didn't have any specific readout to offer. However, he reminded that the Secretary had the opportunity to meet with the leaders of these countries (Azerbaijan and Armenia) a number of weeks ago on the margins of the Munich Security Conference.

"It’s something that we continue to be deeply engaged in... It’s something that Mr. Bono continues to be engaged in, in addition to others in this department as well," he said.

Asked by TURAN whether another ministerial meeting could be expected following this week's talks, Patel said: "I’m just not going to get ahead of any scheduling, but I’m sure we’ll have more to share soon."

Alex Raufoglu