U.S.’s Blinken presses peace in calls with Armenian, Azerbaijani leaders
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke individually with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday to attempt to nudge the previous Soviet republics, which fought a six-week struggle in 2020 over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh area, towards peace.
In almost similar statements, the State Division stated Blinken had mentioned the 2 nations’ “historic alternative to realize peace within the area” with each Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Blinken hailed a current assembly between the 2 nations’ overseas ministers, inspired continued dialogue and provided U.S. help in “facilitating regional transportation and communication linkages,” the division stated in its statements.
The dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous territory inside Azerbaijan managed because the Nineteen Nineties by ethnic Armenians, flared in 2020 right into a six-week struggle wherein Azeri troops regained swathes of territory. The 2 sides agreed to work on a peace plan after Russia brokered a ceasefire.
(Reporting by Tim Ahmann and Arshad Mohammed; Modifying by Leslie Adler and Grant McCool)
