U.S. Defends Its Efforts To Ee-Escalate Tensions Between Azerbaijan, Armenia

Washington on Monday defended its efforts to de-escalate tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan amid the recent standoff at the Lachin Corridor, followed by diplomatic activity involving the Kremlin, TURAN's U.S. correspondent reports.

Russia's Vladimir Putin on Monday spoke with both Azerbajan's Ilham Aliyev and Armenia's Nikol Pashinyan discussing "the implementation of trilateral agreements between Yerevan, Moscow and Baku," according to the Kremlin. The move came as dozens of Azerbaijani activists on Monday blocked a section of the Lachin corridor near the city of Shusha.

Asked by TURAN's correspondent whether the U.S. had any position on the latest tension and if Washington was able "to keep eyes on the ball" due to increasing tension at the border, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told a press briefing, "I think we have... We have consistently focused on this challenge, on the need to de-escalate tensions, on the need to set these two countries on the path to a lasting, comprehensive settlement."

Price went on to add, "We, of course, brought the two countries together at the foreign minister level here in Washington. We did that in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly. And Phil Reeker, our senior advisor, has been actively engaged with officials in both countries to see to it that we are doing everything we can and, most importantly, that these two countries are doing everything they can to see to it that these tensions are de-escalated."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on November 7 hosted Foreign Ministers Jeyhun Bayramov and Ararat Mirzoyan in Washington D.C. where the ministers agreed to expedite negotiations towards comprehensive and lasting peace. The two are yet to meet for the next round of talks.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.