The timing of new U.S.-sponsored peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which had been expected to start Monday, is now uncertain despite the U.S. administration’s conviction that direct dialogue between the two nations is key to any stable peace agreement.<\/p>\n
“At the request of the Azerbaijani side, the next round of discussions planned to take place next week in Washington D.C. is postponed,” Armenia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan said in a statement Thursday on social media. “The public will be duly informed on the new timeframes of the meeting.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Badalyan had previously stated that foreign ministerial talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan scheduled for June 12 would be\u202faimed at\u202fstabilizing\u202frelations between the neighboring rivals\u202fand reaching a peace treaty.<\/p>\n
The countries have had a decades-long\u202fconflict involving the Nagorno-Karabakh\u202fregion, which is inside Azerbaijan but populated predominantly by\u202fethnic Armenians.<\/p>\n
When asked Thursday whether the talks have been postponed, a State Department spokesman told VOA, “Regarding the date of the next round of talks, we don’t have any specific dates to announce at this time.”<\/p>\n
Experts predict difficult talks whenever they begin, saying there are many obstacles to a durable peace deal between the two countries.<\/p>\n
“Even though the [Nagorno-Karabakh] region is recognized as a part of Azerbaijan, the Armenia government will likely not sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan unless the Azerbaijan government provides assurances about the security and safety of the Karabakh Armenians,” said Heather Ashby, acting director for U.S. Institute of Peace’s Center for Russia and Europe program.<\/p>\n
“Azerbaijan’s plan for incorporating Karabakh Armenians into Azerbaijan will play an important role in the peace talks,” Ashby told VOA on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 6 tweeted that Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan\u202fand the\u202fState Department’s principal deputy assistant\u202fsecretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian affairs,\u202fDereck Hogan,\u202fhad “discussed key issues of normalization process”\u202fof Armenia-Azerbaijan relations ahead of the talks.<\/p>\n
They discussed “border delimitation and security” as well as the “rights and security” of people living in the Nagorno-Karabakh\u202fregion, the ministry tweeted.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Azerbaijani\u202fForeign Minister\u202fJeyhun Bayramov\u202fhad acknowledged the coming meetings\u202fand the need to prepare an agreement to normalize relations\u202fwith Armenia, while expressing\u202funcertainty about the duration of the peace process, according to VOA’s Azerbaijani\u202fservice.<\/p>\n
At the State Department, deputy spokesperson Vedant\u202fPatel told reporters during a briefing this week that the United States looks “forward to hosting another round of talks in Washington as the parties continue to pursue a peaceful future in the South Caucasus region.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We continue to believe that direct dialogue is key towards reaching a durable and dignified peace,” said Patel,\u202fwhile declining to confirm the date that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would host the peace talks.\u202f<\/p>\n
If the meetings take place next week, they will follow peace talks\u202fhosted by the State Department in early May,\u202fwhen\u202fBlinken said “tangible progress” had been made toward an agreement.\u202f<\/p>\n
The top U.S. diplomat said he believed a peace deal was “within sight, within reach” at that time.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, tensions remain high between the two former Soviet republics over Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which is the only land route giving\u202fArmenia direct access to Nagorno-Karabakh.<\/p>\n
“As a starting point for improving security, we call on Azerbaijan to take steps to ensure constant gas and electricity supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as to ensure the free flow and movement of goods and people, including through the Lachin Corridor,” said\u202fAmbassador Michael Carpenter, the U.S.\u202fenvoy to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe,\u202fon June 6.\u202f<\/p>\n
He urged all sides to “refrain from provocative, threatening, or hostile actions or rhetoric,” while pledging Washington’s support for “a durable and sustainable peace agreement.” \u00a0<\/p>\n
The Lachin Corridor\u202fallows supplies from Armenia to reach the 120,000 ethnic Armenians in the mountainous enclave. The corridor\u202fhas been policed by Russian peacekeepers since December 2020.<\/p>\n
The blockade has left those ethnic Armenian residents in Nagorno-Karabakh\u202fwithout access to essential goods and services, including life-saving medication and health care, according to Amnesty International.\u202f<\/p>\n
The rights group said\u202fAzerbaijan’s\u202fgovernment has failed\u202fits human rights obligations by taking no action to lift the blockade.\u202f<\/p>\n
Azerbaijan\u202fmaintains\u202fthe land route is open for humanitarian deliveries, emergency services and peacekeepers.\u202f<\/p>\n
In November 2022, Blinken hosted\u202fforeign ministers from Armenia and Azerbaijan\u202ffor peace negotiations at Blair House in Washington.\u202f<\/p>\n
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol\u202fPashinyan\u202fand Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held face-to-face meetings hosted by Blinken on the sidelines of the\u202fMunich Security Conference\u202fin February.<\/p>\n
“For any sustainable peace, the populations of Armenia and Azerbaijan also need to see the value of peace,” USIP’s Heather Ashby told VOA.<\/p>\n
“For 30 years, they have lived through violence and conflict between the two countries. A peace agreement will have a significant impact on the populations of both countries and it is important not to lose sight on how they may respond and accept a treaty.” \u00a0<\/p>\n
VOA Armenian and Azerbaijan services contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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