WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington on Monday as part of efforts to ease friction between the South Caucasus rivals.
Tensions have flared anew after Azerbaijan installed a road checkpoint at the start of the Lachin Corridor, the only route linking Armenia to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory.
Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but home to mostly ethnic Armenians. Azerbaijan committed to keeping the route open as part of a Russian-brokered ceasefire in 2020 that ended a six-week war between the two countries.
Azerbaijan said it had established the checkpoint in response to what it said were Armenian weapon supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh. Yerevan denies that charge.
The talks - bilaterals between Blinken and each foreign minister as well as a three-way discussion - were not expected to yield a breakthrough.
A senior State Department official said Washington’s “goal is to make sure that the ministers are able to sit down and talk to each other ... But it’s most important that the two of them are able to continue their negotiations.”
Washington previously said it was “deeply concerned” by Azerbaijan establishing the checkpoint.
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