The US sees no quick fixes after talks with Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. Progress has been made, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday, following US-brokered talks between his counterpart Ararat Mirsoyan of Armenia and Jeyhun Bayramov of Azerbaijan in Washington. But hard work is still needed for a deal.
From the perspective of the United Nations, Nagorno-Karabakh, which is predominantly inhabited by Armenians, forms part of Azerbaijan. However, the enclave declared its independence from the Baku government in 1991. The two former Soviet republics have fought over the area for decades. In 2020, the conflict escalated into a war that ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire. Tensions flared again in the spring.
Despite repeated attempts at negotiations, key agreements are still pending. Among other things, these are demarcation lines and prisoner exchanges. Russia is a formal ally of Armenia, but it also maintains good relations with Azerbaijan.
Blinken said on Thursday, after the three-day talks concluded, that some of the toughest issues remained unresolved. He did not elaborate on this. However, progress has been made on some issues. The conversations were “open and direct”. He expects further progress at a meeting between the heads of state and government of the two countries and the EU in the coming weeks. The Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers did not speak to the media.