WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Monday, the State Department’s official website announced that the U.S. Secretary of State had a phone conversation with Nikol Pashinyan. The full text of the statement is included below. It is interesting to note, that there was no mention of “Artsakh” or its status in the statement, effectively mirroring the position of Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly stated that the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict was resolved with Armenia’s capitulation in the 2020 war and that there is nothing else to discuss. This position is further verified by an announcement last week by Armenia’s security council chairman that Armenia will pull out the remainder of its troops from Artsakh by September.
Also, notably missing from the statement was any hint of Turkey coming to terms with the history of the Armenian Genocide as a precursor to “normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey.” Evidently, the United States position entails Armenia moving beyond and discarding its demands for Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide, along with completely capitulating to Azerbaijan’s position on the Artsakh matter.
The statement from the Department of State:
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to discuss Armenia and Azerbaijan’s historic opportunity to achieve peace in the region. The Secretary offered the United States’ assistance in facilitating regional transportation and communication linkages. The Secretary encouraged continued bilateral dialogue and hailed the recent meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers in Tbilisi.
He also reaffirmed support for productive EU-brokered discussions and noted that the United States has been an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair since 1994 and stands ready to engage bilaterally and with likeminded partners to help Armenia and Azerbaijan find a long-term comprehensive peace. Secretary Blinken also commended the Prime Minister on the positive momentum and concrete agreements made towards normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey.
