Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson of US State Department, during his media briefing, referred to the latest provocations by Azerbaijan in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and the peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington.
“We are deeply disturbed by the loss of life in Nagorno-Karabakh, and we offer our condolences to the families of all of those who were killed. These latest incidents underscore the need to refrain from hostilities and for a durable and dignified peace.
The U.S. is committed to assisting the parties in achieving this goal, and Secretary Blinken is directly engaged in the peace process. Direct dialogue is key to resolving issues and reaching a durable and dignified peace. Yesterday’s meetings with the foreign ministers were constructive, and we continue to build on those discussions today and tomorrow as the peace talks continue. So there’s no change in the schedule, Leon. This is going to be something that we’re going to continue to work on”, Patel said.
Asked if they can assure that the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers are laser focused on negotiation, given the tension, Patel said: “I am not their spokespeople, so it would be inappropriate for me to characterize that at all. What I can say is, though, that this is something that the Secretary is going to be directly engaged on and continues to be directly engaged on this process, as is other members of our team, including our senior advisor for Caucasus negotiations, Lou Bono. This is something that we’ll continue to remain directly engaged on with these foreign ministers. As you know, the Secretary had the opportunity to meet with them both bilaterally and trilateral yesterday, and we look forward to having these peace talks continue”.
“Any concern on your end that ministers might talk the talk, but when push comes to shove, they turn to tension?” asked another journalist, for what Patel said: “United States’ role, is that we’re very much glad to be convening and hosting this, and the role that we’ve played similar to the last time that we hosted this – these kinds of talks earlier this year. As I said, the Secretary had the opportunity to meet with these foreign ministers. This is something that the department is going to continue to remain deeply engaged on, and I don’t have any other updates to offer on this”.
Later Matthew Miller, US State Department Spokesperson also referred to the Azerbaijani provocations in Artsakh. “We are deeply disturbed by the loss of life in Nagorno Karabakh. These latest incidents underscore the need to refrain from hostilities and for a durable and dignified peace. The United States is committed to assisting the parties in achieving this goal”, he tweeted.
