US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday (September 19) called for a
“lasting peace”
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, saying he was
“encouraged”
by the absence of fighting for several days after an unprecedented escalation since 2020 threatening to to torpedo a fragile peace process between these two rival countries in the Caucasus.
"We are encouraged by the fact that the fighting has stopped and that there have been no military acts in recent days
," said the head of American diplomacy when receiving, at his request and for the first time his Armenian counterparts Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Jeyhun Bayramov.
He said he had spoken with the leaders of the two countries and said they were ready
"to make peace"
.
"There is a path to a lasting peace that will resolve differences
," he said, pleading for
"active diplomacy"
,
"the best solution for everyone"
.
200 soldiers killed in one week
The meeting took place in a large hotel in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Questioned on his arrival, the head of Azerbaijani diplomacy said he was
“open to discussion”
.
“We must all work for a lasting peace”
, he indicated while denouncing
“certain Armenian provocations”
.
The recent clashes are the most intense since a war between the two countries in 2020 for control of the Nagorny Karabakh enclave, which left more than 6,500 dead and led Yerevan to cede territory to Baku.
Before 2020, Armenia and Azerbaijan had already clashed in the 1990s over Nagorno Karabakh, a conflict that left more than 30,000 dead.
According to the Armenian Security Council on Monday, more than 200 Armenian soldiers were killed last week.
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