This is the first time the ministers have come together for a few days. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the ministers this morning both separately and in a trilateral format.
The United States’ commitment is “promoting a peaceful, democratic and prosperous future for the South Caucasus region,” a Senior State Department Official said.
“We’ve long said that direct dialogue is key to resolving the issues to reach a lasting peace,” the official added.
“We expect the discussions will continue through the week,” the official said in response to the questions on the duration of the talks.
Washington “hopes and expects” that over the course of the week the representatives from Armenia and Azerbaijan “will have forthright and frank discussion as they search for resolution,” a Senior State Department Official Number Two said.
When asked whether the US is positioning itself as a country that provides a platform for talks as a host only, or if Washington has any preference or plan with regard to potential outcome, the Official Number Two said, “Our goal is to provide a location where there can be bilateral discussions and real hard work done together to make progress on lasting peace, and we are very happy and are honored to be able to provide the space for Armenia and Azerbaijan to do that together.”
Asked about Russia’s position against US- lead dialogue, the Official Number One said it would be disappointing if the Russians “view this in a negative way”.
According to the officials, it is most important that the parties are able to contact each other wherever it takes place, be it in Washington, Brussels or Moscow.
“Our goal here is a lasting, durable, balanced and dignifying peace between the parties,” the Official Number One concluded.
