ArmInfo. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday said a peace agreement between Azerbaijan
and Armenia is achievable.
"I was speaking just about a week ago to (Azerbaijani) President
(Ilham) Aliyev on this I think that's achievable, and it's manifestly
in the interests of both Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as the
broader region," Blinken said in remarks at the Brookings Institution
in Washington, DC.
In response to a question, Blinken said there is an "extraordinary
opportunity, potential" to realize a peace agreement between the two
countries to end decades of conflict and create an opportunity for
economic connectivity and growth in the region.
"Azerbaijan has a critical role to play in that. We have invested
intensely in our own diplomacy in trying to help bring Azerbaijan and
Armenia to a peace agreement, we've done that in very close
collaboration and coordination with the European Union, and I think
that's something that really is within reach," he added.
Blinken's remarks came after Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat
Mirzoyan said last week that his nation is ready to sign a peace
treaty with Azerbaijan.
Speaking at a news conference in Armenia's capital Yerevan, Mirzoyan
said a treaty may be drafted within a month.
The US has invited the two southern Caucasus nations to the July 9-11
NATO summit in Washington, which marks the 75th anniversary of the
Western security alliance.
"US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is hosting an event for all of
NATO's partners. That includes Armenia and Azerbaijan, so we expect
them both to attend it. That's the foreign ministerial level. So they
will attend along with the other, a total of 30 partners," Jim
O'Brien, top US diplomat for Europe and Eurasia, told a Friday a
press conference in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital.
Relations between Baku and Yerevan have been tense since 1991, when
the Armenian military occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally
recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
