Washington/15.07.21/Turan: The U.S. and France on Wednesday discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh issue alongside a range of other key topics, during French Foreign Minister's trip to Washington, TURAN's U.S. correspondent reports.
"I talked about our joint action as co-chairs of the Minsk Group to help achieve lasting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan" Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement following his meetings at the State Department and the White House.
The move comes just a day after Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's call with Armenian acting PM Nikol Pashinyan in which he "highlighted U.S. support for the Minsk Group Co-Chairs process aimed at a lasting political settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," the State Department said on Thursday.
Blinken "encouraged Armenia to engage constructively at the OSCE [and] reaffirmed his support for the expeditious return of all Armenian detainees from Azerbaijan to Armenia," the State Department noted about the call.
Back in Washington, top U.S. and French diplomats yesterday reaffirmed the strong bilateral ties and exchanged views on a range of shared foreign policy interests, including Russia, Iran, and China, among others.
"In line with decisions taken at the NATO Summit on June 14, I reiterated the need to take a firm position vis-à-vis Russia and to maintain dialogue that could foster a stable and predictable relationship with this country," Jean-Yves Le Drian said.
In this context, he noted, Washington and Paris agree "to maintain close coordination, including within the framework of NATO, on the issue of arms control and strategic stability in order to prepare the next steps of dialogue with Russia."
"I also recalled France’s persistent efforts to help resolve the Ukrainian crisis, within the Normandy Format, and to encourage inclusive dialogue in Belarus, to address the unrest on which we will continue to take a very tough stance," Le Drian added.
Alex Raufoglu
Washington D.C.
Politics
-
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev issued a decree on Thursday amending the list of classified information approved under a 2005 presidential order. The changes align with amendments to the country’s laws on "Accounting" and "State Secrets" passed by parliament on December 22, 2023.
-
On January 23, the Baku Court of Appeal considered the complaint of Meydan TV journalist Natig Javadli against the refusal to transfer him to house arrest.
-
On January 23, the Deputy Commander of the Azerbaijani Ground Forces, Ilgar Latifov, met with a Pakistani delegation headed by the Director General of Military Operations, Abdullah Kashif. The parties discussed the state and prospects for the development of military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, as well as the importance of increasing the intensity of joint exercises.
-
The announcement of 2025 as the "Year of the Constitution and Sovereignty" in Azerbaijan has sparked rumors and speculation about the government's plans to hold a constitutional referendum this year. Today's statement in the Milli Majlis by the head of the parliamentary committee on human rights and concurrently the director of the Center for Humanitarian Studies, Zahid Oruj, confirmed that these expectations are not groundless.
Leave a review