U.S. Says 'Remains Committed' To Peace Process, As Talks Between Ministers Enter Third Day

Washington D.C./03.05.23/Turan:   The United States "remains committed" to the negotiation process and to promoting a peaceful future in the South Caucasus, the State Department said Tuesday afternoon as Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers wrapped up the second day of their negotiations.

A U.S.-hosted meeting of delegations, which is aimed at reaching lasting, durable and balanced peace, will continue today, the third day in a row, TURAN's Washington correspondent learned from diplomatic sources.

"We believe that direct dialogue is key to resolving the issues, but I’m just not going to get ahead of the meetings themselves," Vedant Patel, State Department's principal deputy spokesperson, told a daily briefing when responding to TURAN's questions.

When asked about the format of the meeting, Patel said, along with the Azerbaijani-Armenian delegations, "a number of officials from the U.S. side deeply engaged on this."

"Obviously, Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations Lou Bono has been deeply engaged in this not just through these meetings but through his continued engagement in the South Caucasus..."

It wasn't immediately clear if Secretary Blinken was planning to join the third day of the meetings today. "I don’t want to get ahead of the schedule this week... and we’ll just let these meetings and engagements take part and take them day by day," Patel said.

In the meantime, as TURAN has learned from diplomati sources, Blinken is expected to participate in the closing session of the ministerial dialogue tomorrow, May 4th.

Alex Raufoglu