After exchanging accusations about a recent bombing campaign along their borders, Armenia and Azerbaijan conducted discussions in Washington under American sponsorship. This is part of a conflict that has claimed hundreds of lives in recent months.
The foreign ministers of the two at war nations were hosted by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Blinken stated that “the direct discussion is the greatest approach to a permanent peace, and we are extremely delighted to support this,” adding that “the United States is dedicated to peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
The encounter, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity, was more than just a chance for the two sides to speak and interact rather than actual peace negotiations.
During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia, Armenian Prime Minister Nicole Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev recently promised “not to resort to power.”
But on Sunday night, “Units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces opened fire on Armenian sites located in the eastern region of the border,” noting that “any victims”, according to a statement by the Armenian Ministry of Defense.
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense, on the other hand, claimed that Armenian soldiers had fired “light weapons from different calibres” on Baku targets without disclosing any casualties.
“Refrain from any action that could lead to an escalation of stress,” the Kremlin urged Yerevan and Baku.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought several decades ago as part of a dispute to control the Nagurani Qara Baj area, which was the most severe battles in the year 2020.
More than 6,500 people were killed on both sides of the Fall 2020 conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which resulted in an Armenian military defeat and a peace deal supported by Moscow.
Nevertheless, sporadic clashes persisted despite the presence of Russian soldiers, whether in Nagurani Qara Bagh or at the established borders between the two nations, as was the case in September, when at least 286 people lost their lives in fresh clashes on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
To govern this region of Azerbaijani territory with a majority of Armenians, the two nations fought their first war in the early 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union, which resulted in the deaths of about 30,000 people.
Talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan are held in Washington
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