A peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh is "
in sight
", the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, said on Thursday, welcoming "
tangible progress
" in the talks in Washington.
"
Both sides have addressed very difficult issues in recent days and they have made tangible progress towards a lasting peace agreement
," he said at the end of four days of talks.
"
I hope they feel, and I believe they do, that an agreement is in sight, within reach,
" he added, stressing that "
the pace of negotiations and the foundations laid
" suggested to conclude a peace agreement later.
“Closing session”
“
The last mile of a marathon is always the hardest.
We all know that
,” he said again, pledging the continued support of the United States to “
cross the finish line
.”
Antony Blinken, who sponsored the talks that began on Monday, spoke at a "
closing session
" of the negotiations in the presence of the heads of diplomacy of the two countries, the Armenian Ararat Mirzoyan and the Azerbaijani Djeyhoun Baïramov.
They took place behind closed doors in a conference center in the name of former Secretary of State George Shultz, near the federal capital.
The two Caucasian countries clashed in two wars in the early 1990s and in 2020 for control of Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region mostly populated by Armenians that seceded from Azerbaijan three decades ago.