U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has offered U.S. assistance in building ties between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Blinken held separate calls on July 25 with the leaders of the two countries to encourage efforts to achieve a permanent settlement between the adversaries almost two years after a Russian-brokered truce ended a six-week war over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Blinken said the two nations have a "historic opportunity to achieve peace in the region," according to State Department spokesman Ned Price in a statement.
Blinken has "offered the United States' assistance in facilitating regional transportation and communication linkages,” Price said.
Blinken also noted that the United States has been a co-chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation In Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group since 1994 and “stands ready to engage bilaterally and with likeminded partners to help Armenia and Azerbaijan find a long-term comprehensive peace.”
SEE ALSO: Azerbaijanis Visit New 'Smart Village' In Land Recaptured From ArmeniaThe U.S. secretary of state commended Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian for “positive momentum and concrete agreements” toward normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey.
He also spoke with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev about the ongoing peace negotiations and called for further progress in the direction of peace and stability in the region.
Aliyev and Pashinian met under EU mediation in May to discuss a future peace treaty. Their foreign ministers followed up by meeting on July 16 in the Georgian capital for their first bilateral talks since 2020.
Nagorno-Karabakh, which had been under ethnic Armenian control for nearly three decades, is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
Under the truce, Armenia agreed to cede to Azerbaijan swathes of territory, and Russia deployed some 2,000 peacekeepers.