WASHINGTON (Azatutyun) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s conciliatory position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict after holding talks with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Washington on Monday, May 2.
He also said that the United States and Armenia are now working to “strengthen and deepen” their relations through a “strategic dialogue” that was launched in 2019 but subsequently suspended due to the pandemic coronavirus.
Blinken and Mirzoyan signed after their meeting a memorandum of understanding on “strategic civil nuclear cooperation” between their countries.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Blinken welcomed “democratic reforms” implemented by the Armenian government as well as its ongoing dialogue with Azerbaijan. In that regard, he expressed “real appreciation for the vision and the courage and the flexibility that the prime minister and Armenia have been showing in this process.”
Addressing the Armenian parliament on April 13, Pashinyan said the international community is pressing Armenia to scale back its demands on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. He signaled Yerevan’s intention to make such concessions to Baku.
The European Union praised the “forward-looking” speech delivered by Pashinyan one week after he met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels for talks hosted by the EU’s top official, Charles Michel. Blinken spoke with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders by phone on the eve of the talks.
