WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. President Joe Biden has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to conclude a peace agreement with Armenia before the end of this year.
“A peace agreement would not only ensure Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, it would transform the entire region — paving the way for increased trade, investment, and connectivity between Europe and Central Asia,” Biden said in a letter delivered to Baku by a senior U.S. administration official on Monday.
“As the world’s attention turns to Baku for COP29 [climate summit,] you have a unique opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to peace in front of a global audience. As you know, finalizing the remaining articles of the peace agreement will require creativity and compromise on all sides. But I am confident that you will continue to meet this moment, and I encourage you to finalize an agreement this year,” added the letter publicized by Azerbaijan’s official Azertac news agency.
“I want you to know that I am committed to supporting this cause. My Administration is prepared to take bold initiatives that would help pave the way for peace. I have asked my Senior Director for Europe, Michael Carpenter, to brief you on some of the steps we would be willing to take and also to get your feedback on discussions with Armenia,” Biden said.
“I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to set a new course for the region, one based on shared prosperity and the pursuit of common good,” the President concluded.
Meeting with Michael Carpenter, Aliyev reiterated his main precondition for any peace deal with Armenia: a change of the Armenian constitution which he claims contains territorial claims to Azerbaijan. He earlier rejected an Armenian proposal to sign a deal containing the vast majority of the 16 articles of a draft peace treaty that have already been agreed upon by the two sides.
Carpenter, who is a special assistant to Biden and senior director for Europe at the U.S. National Security Council, visited Baku three weeks before the start of COP29 in the Azerbaijani capital. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted talks between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in New York late last month.
The U.S. State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller, insisted last week that Washington “never tied the [Armenian-Azerbaijani] agreement to COP.” He also said it is “up to the two parties, not the United States” to reach such an accord.
Armenian officials have expressed concern that Azerbaijan could invade Armenia after the upcoming global summit.
