The only goal of the US is to help Armenia and Azerbaijan work together to bring about lasting peace, Spokesperson for the Department of State Ned Price said at a daily briefing on Tuesday.
The Spokesman was responding to his Russian counterpart Maria Zakharova’s statement, who referred to the West’s engagement between Azerbaijan-Armenia as “self-promotion.”
“There is nothing self-promotional about seeking to put an end to years of conflict and to years of flare-ups that have led to violence and ultimately to deaths, both on the part of Armenians and the citizens of Azerbaijan. Our only goal here is to see and to help these countries work together to bring about a comprehensive and lasting peace, and ultimately to save lives. I don’t know what about that can be construed as self-promotional,” Price said.
“As the Secretary has emphasized, we are committed to peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We’ve encouraged both leaders to meet in whatever format is most useful to them. We believe direct dialogue is key to resolving issues and to reaching a lasting peace. It’s why Secretary Blinken brought together his foreign minister counterparts from Armenia and Azerbaijan in New York City in September, the first time that the two had been in the same room since the recent flare-up of violence, he said.
The Spokesman noted that”It’s ultimately for Armenia and for Azerbaijan to decide whether President Putin’s invitation would be helpful or useful to them in pursuit of that lasting peace.”
“There is ultimately no greater support than the United States for the sovereignty and the independence of the countries in the South Caucasus. The restoration of Armenia, Azerbaijan’s, and Georgia’s independence in 1991 from the Soviet Union was a seminal event that guaranteed each of these countries the right to pursue their own foreign policy interests independent of Moscow or independent of any other country,” Ned Price stated.
