Regulation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani crisis under discussion in Washington
Armenia and Azerbaijan began US-mediated peace talks in Washington on Monday over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, AFP reports. The talks, hosted by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, will last until Thursday and are being held in the presence of the two countries' foreign ministers.
"Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoian, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeihun Bairamov met in the US capital, Washington, on Monday 1 May. A number of issues related to the security situation in the region, the process of normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan were the topics of discussion," reports the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry. The ministry noted that the humanitarian situation "which has developed as a result of Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor" was also discussed.
Peace is possible between the two countries and direct dialogue is "essential" to resolve their differences, State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters, declining to provide details of the first day of talks.
The two Caucasian countries clashed in two wars in the early 1990s and in the 2020s over control of the enclave, a mountainous region largely populated by Armenians that broke away from Azerbaijan three decades ago. Tensions doubled when Baku announced on 23 April that it had installed a first road checkpoint at the entrance to the Lachin corridor, the only axis linking Armenia to the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. Armenia considered this a violation of the ceasefire negotiated with Azerbaijan.
