U.S. Urges Russia To Use Its influence Over Armenia, Azerbaijan To Help Broker Peace

Washington on Tuesday urged Russia to use its influence over the two conflicting countries to help broker peace after the recent clashes.

“Russia has outsized influence with both Azerbaijan and Armenia. We have called on Russia, and we do call on Russia, to use that influence and to use that leverage in a way that helps to achieve a cessation of hostilities, and more broadly, a de-escalation of those tensions,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in response to TURAN's questions during a daily press briefing.

According to Price, it is "hard to envision" how another conflict on Russia’s borders would be in anyone’s interests, including the interests of those in Moscow.

"... Russia could use that influence for ill; it could use that influence to help bring about what it is we all seek, and that’s an immediate end to this violence and a de escalation of tensions," he said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been engaged on the matter, too, urging the leaders of the two countries to find a peaceful resolution.

Blinken "was on the phone until after 1:00 a.m. Eastern (9 am, Baku time) with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan underscoring for them the importance of the core message that he issued in his statement, namely the imperative of an immediate cessation of these hostilities," Price described.

Blinken, in his turn, himself told reporters on Tuesday that it would be a "good thing" if Russia could utilize its clout in the area to end hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, the White House believes that there is no indication of Russian forces repositioning amid Armenia and Azerbaijan border clashes, National Security Council's Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby told reporters separately.

"We haven't seen any indication that Russian forces are re-positioning amid Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict," he said. "... They did have a peacekeeping presence there.  And as far as we know, that peacekeeping presence is still there," he added.

Kirbuy also urged Baku and Yerevan to restraint from any further military hostilities. "We also encourage both governments to reestablish direct lines of communications across diplomatic and military channels, and to recommit to a diplomatic process to resolve the -- to resolve the crisis," he added.

Back at the State Department, spokesperson Price assured that the U.S. is "going to remain actively engaged diplomatically with both of these governments."

"Ambassador Reeker, who was recently named our senior adviser for Caucasus negotiations, was in Baku yesterday. He remains there. He met earlier today with senior Azerbaijani leaders, and we remain committed to promoting a peaceful, democratic and prosperous future for the South Caucasus region," Price said.

Asked by TURAN's Washinhgton correspondent whether diplomacy still had a chance, Price said, "diplomacy is still very much alive."

"And this is a simmering conflict and a simmering sort of tension that has been around for decades. And we have been focused on this since the earliest days of this administration," he added.

Referring to Ambassador Reeker's new role, Price said, "we have placed a high level of personnel overseeing the day to day activity of this file."

"Of course, Ambassador Reeker is someone who is well known to the department... He is someone who knows this issue as well as anyone," he added.

For long-time South Caucasus watchers, such as Richard Kauzlarich, who served as Bill Clinton's ambassador to Azerbaijan (1994–1997), the international engagement has been "set back to pre-Minsk Group days," following the latest clashes.

"The individual efforts of the EU and Russia are now totally discounted. Reeker never had a chance, given Baku's criticism of his role. This is 1994 all over again," he told TURAN's Washington correspondent.

For Kauzlarich, Yerevan and Bau are "unrestrained", and Russia with a military presence in both countries,

Moscow, he said, cannot use that presence "because of the losses in Ukraine".

"The only winner may be Iran," he added.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.