Azerbaijan said Wednesday that the U.S. could contribute to the peace process with archrival Armenia by considering “new realities” in the region.
The South Caucasus neighbors have been locked in a decadeslong conflict over the control of the Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan reclaimed after a lightning operation against illegal separatists in September.
Both countries have said a peace agreement could be signed by the end of the year, but peace talks – mediated separately by the European Union, the U.S. and Russia – have seen little progress.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Wednesday that the U.S. had “nullified” strategic ties between Washington and Baku, adding: “We don’t know why.”
“If the U.S. says our relationship will no longer be the same, that means Washington is pulling out from mediating the Azerbaijani-Armenian peace process,” he added, saying a change in posture from Washington would mean Baku could “restore” U.S.-led talks.
The comments came as Assistant Secretary of State James O’Brien, also the special envoy for European and Eurasian Affairs, was expected in Baku for talks aimed at “strengthening ties” and “supporting the peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia.”
During their meeting, Aliyev told O’Brien that “historic opportunities had arisen for the establishment of peace” after the end of the second Karabakh war in the fall of 2020, according to a statement by his office.
Azerbaijan liberated most of the Karabakh region from Armenian occupation during 44 days of clashes in the fall of 2020, which ended with a Russian-brokered peace agreement, opening the door to normalization.
Aliyev argued Armenia did “not fulfill its obligations” after the end of the 44-day war while also “sending weapons and military personnel to the territories of Azerbaijan.”
He said Azerbaijan “carried out anti-terror measures in its sovereign territories, put an end to aggressive separatism and demonstrated exemplary compliance with the requirements of humanitarian law during the operation.”
“The president pointed out that no harm had been done to civilians and infrastructure,” the statement further quoted Aliyev as saying.
Azerbaijan has refused to participate in talks with Armenia that were planned in the U.S. on Nov. 20 over what it said was Washington’s “biased” position.
O’Brien last month said Azerbaijan’s operation to recapture Karabakh, displacing tens of thousands of people, had led Washington to cancel high-level contacts.
In October, Aliyev refused to attend a round of negotiations with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Spain, citing France’s “biased position.”
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had been scheduled to join EU chief Charles Michel as mediators at those talks.
So far, there has been no visible progress in EU efforts to organize a fresh round of negotiations.
On Wednesday, Aliyev and O’Brien further discussed various aspects of bilateral relations. They exchanged ideas on regional issues, during which the Azerbaijani president conveyed prospects for developing bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy, transport and logistics.
O’Brien, for his part, emphasized Washington’s role in bringing Azerbaijan’s energy resources to world markets and said his country supports the peace agenda in the region, including the normalization of Baku-Yerevan ties and negotiations on a peace treaty, the statement said.
The statement also quoted O’Brien as saying that the U.S. supports the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, as well as the continuation of discussions on opening communication lines between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also called the Middle or East-West Corridor, is a network of railways and roads that starts in Türkiye and covers Georgia, Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea and Central Asia and reaches China, making it an important effort to revive the ancient Silk Road.
“During the meeting, the sides described the resumption of reciprocal visits as a positive step for advancing bilateral relations. The sides also exchanged views on regional issues of mutual interest,” the statement concluded.
