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U.S. hails Azerbaijan’s commitment to peace talks with Armenia

18 April 2022 18:00 (UTC+04:00)
U.S. hails Azerbaijan’s commitment to peace talks with Armenia

By Vugar Khalilov

The United States has hailed Azerbaijan’s commitment to peace talks with Armenia.

The European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau of the U.S. State Department made the remarks in a post on its official Twitter account on April 18.

"The United States welcomes Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan’s recent comments on peace negotiations with Azerbaijan, the recent bilateral FM call between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s commitment to peace negotiations,” the bureau tweeted.

It said in another Twitter post that "Assistant Secretary Donfried is sending Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations Andrew Schofer to the region this week to discuss how the United States can best support the process".

Analyzing Andrew Schofer's visit, political scientist, MP Elman Nasirov said that Schofer will most likely inform Armenia about the impossibility of cooperation among Washington, Paris and Moscow on the matter due to the ongoing Ukraine crisis.

"With this visit, Schofer will explain to Yerevan that the OSCE Minsk Group's activities no longer make sense," Nasirov said.

He added that Schofer's arrival in Armenia has naturally sparked a flurry of concerns.

The visit is likely to be welcomed by Yerevan, as it has frequently raised the issue of using the OSCE Minsk Group's mediation in the settlement of post-conflict issues.

"However, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly stated that their activities are non-existent. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently stated that the American and French co-chairs no longer wish to collaborate with Russia. In fact, the U.S. and France have suspended their participation in the OSCE Minsk Group. Russia must halt its activities in light of this. As a result of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Minsk Group has suspended its operations. There is no such institution," Nasirov stated.

He described the visit as surprising.

“In my opinion, in reality, Schofer will only disclose Washington's position in the negotiations with Yerevan on issues awaiting resolution in the post-conflict period. On this basis, he will explain the new realities to Yerevan,” the MP said.

Nasirov underlined that the U.S. diplomat explain that against the background of the Russian-Ukrainian war, it is no longer possible for Washington and Paris to work together with Moscow in the OSCE Minsk Group. In the absence of Russia, the co-chairing institution cannot function effectively.

“In this circumstance, the American co-chair will simply try to persuade Yerevan that there is no alternative to accepting the current situation. Because, in the current reality, whether they like it or not, the OSCE Minsk Group's functioning is irrelevant. As a result, I believe that this visit will yield no tangible outcomes,” Nasirov added.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and European Council President Charles Michel met in a trilateral format in Brussels on April 6.

The meeting was held for a continuation of the discussions on the situation in the South Caucasus region and the development of EU relations with both countries.

The leaders took stock of developments since their last meeting in Brussels in December 2021 and their videoconference, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, in February 2022. They reviewed progress on the implementation of undertaken commitments. The leaders discussed the recently reported tensions and reiterated the necessity of adhering fully to the provisions of the 9/10 November 2020 trilateral statement.

Both Aliyev and Pashinyan have expressed a willingness to work quickly toward a peace agreement between their countries. To that end, it was decided to instruct foreign ministers to begin work on drafting a future peace treaty that would address all of the issues.

At the same time, it was also agreed to convene a Joint Border Commission by the end of April. The Joint Border Commission's mandate will be to: delimit the bilateral border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and ensure a stable security situation along and in the vicinity of the borderline.

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