Secretary of State Blinken Urges Aliyev to Maintain the Ceasefire and Limit Provocations

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken  had a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on November 16 “to discuss outcomes and next steps on the Armenian-Azerbaijani bilateral peace discussions.”

“The Secretary underscored U.S. support for the peace process and urged the two sides to schedule further talks, as agreed in Washington. He urged President Aliyev to maintain the ceasefire and limit provocations, while exploring confidence building measures with Armenia to set the stage for peace,” the readout of the phone call released by the U.S. State Department said.

On Tuesday, in phone call, Blinken urged Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to “sustain momentum” on peace negotiations with Azerbaijan .

“I urged Prime Minister Pashinyan to sustain momentum on peace negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia following the foreign ministers’ talks in Washington on November 7,” Blinken wrote on Twitter about the November 15 conversation that was earlier reported by Yerevan as well.

“The United States remains committed to these efforts,” the top U.S. diplomat added.

The readout of the phone call released by Pashinyan’s office yesterday, in particular, said that Blinken “expressed the willingness of the United States to continue supporting the settlement of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, as well as the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.”

“The two agreed to continue discussions on steps aimed at increasing the level of security and stability in the region, including the settlement of humanitarian issues,” it added.