United States Department of State spokesperson Ned Price addressed Azerbaijan’s military attack against Armenia on September 13 during a press briefing. Speaking about last week’s meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as the parties’ genuine interest in establishing peace, Price said that organizing a meeting between the parties was important for the American side.
“Of course, the Secretary of State had conversations with both leaders, but this was the first face-to-face meeting between the two foreign ministers since the latest outbreak of violence. The Secretary of State noted to both leaders the importance of maintaining the ceasefire, the importance of maintaining calm, said that we are committed to a durable ceasefire and a peaceful settlement. We explained to both foreign ministers that the United States is ready to support this process bilaterally, multilaterally (in formats), together with partners. This includes our support for the efforts of European Council President Charles Michel to organize a meeting between the leaders.
During that meeting, they discussed the best path forward, and Blinken suggested that the parties exchange ideas on how to meaningfully advance the peace process before the end of the month.
Our message has been consistent for a long time: we call on Azerbaijan to return troops to their initial positions, we call for the withdrawal of military forces and for working to resolve all issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan through peaceful negotiations.
The use of force is not an acceptable path. We have made that clear specifically. We have also stated that publicly, and we are pleased that our continued engagement, including at high levels, including last week in New York with both countries, has helped stop the military operations, and we will continue to engage and encourage the work that is necessary to achieve a lasting peace, and that can be achieved: this conflict has no military solution,” Price concluded.
