Blinken Gives US Assist to Armenia for Peace Talks With Azerbaijan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken provided U.S. help in serving to Armenia towards having peace discussions with Azerbaijan, the U.S. State Division stated on Monday.

Blinken and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a telephone name on Monday, which was about two weeks after Azerbaijani troops and ethnic Armenians exchanged gunfire in Azerbaijan’s contested area of Nagorno-Karabakh, killing a minimum of 5 folks.

Blinken “reiterated U.S. help for direct talks and diplomacy to help an enduring and sustainable peace within the South Caucasus and burdened that there isn’t any army answer,” the State Division stated in an announcement.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Pashinyan have met a number of instances as a part of makes an attempt to resolve the battle, however periodic violence has harm peace talks.

Nagorno-Karabakh was the focus of two wars which have pitted Armenia towards Azerbaijan within the greater than 30 years since each ex-Soviet states have achieved independence. Russia and Armenia are formally allies via a mutual self-defence pact, however Moscow additionally seeks to take care of good relations with Azerbaijan.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally acknowledged as a part of Azerbaijan, however populated principally by ethnic Armenians.

In December, Azerbaijanis claiming to be environmental activists began a blockade of the Lachin Hall, the one street linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia says the blockade has led to meals and medication shortages, and that the protesters are government-backed agitators. Azerbaijan denies these claims and says the protesters are campaigning towards unlawful Armenian mining.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; enhancing by Grant McCool)

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