US' Blinken urges further progress towards peace in calls with Azerbaijani, Armenian leaders

By Vakkas Dogantekin

ANKARA (AA) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said late Monday that he spoke by phone with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia and called for progress towards peace and stability in the region amid a rapprochement between the two countries.

Blinken on Twitter said he spoke with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev about the ongoing peace talks following the Nagorno-Karabakh war in late 2020.

"I commend the positive momentum resulting from bilateral talks and urge further progress towards peace and stability in the region," he said.

In a separate post, the top US diplomat shared details about his discussion with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and welcomed Armenia's "positive steps forward" with Azerbaijan and Türkiye.

"Discussions among those in the region are key to lasting peace in the South Caucasus," he added.

A readout by US State Department spokesman Ned Price on Blinken's call with Aliyev reiterated the US' offer of "assistance in helping facilitate the opening of regional transportation and communication linkages."

Relations between the two former Soviet countries have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

New clashes erupted in September 2020 and the 44-day conflict saw Azerbaijan liberate several cities and more than 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.

A tripartite agreement was brokered by Russia to bring an end to the war in November 2020.

On the ongoing normalization process with neighboring Armenia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that Türkiye expects concrete steps.

"We expect them to go beyond rhetoric and take concrete steps. We are serious and resolved on the normalization process with Armenia," he added.

Ankara and Yerevan last December appointed special representatives for talks on normalizing ties, with the first meeting held in Moscow on Jan. 14.

Türkiye and Armenia resumed commercial flights in February after a two-year hiatus.