State Department comments on possibility of negotiations between Azerbaijan, Armenia on sidelines of NATO meeting

Principal Deputy Spokesperson of the US State Department Vedant Patel commented on the possibility of a meeting between representatives of Azerbaijan and Armenia on the sidelines of the upcoming NATO summit in Washington.

“Let me just say broadly in the context of the issue in the South Caucasus, this is a priority for us, a priority for the Secretary and other officials across this department. I have no doubt that it’s something we’ll continue to work towards. Specific meetings and engagements on the margins of the summit – I just don’t want to speak to the schedule yet,” Patel said.

Earlier the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien said that Azerbaijan and Armenia were invited to the NATO meeting.

“Secretary Blinken is hosting an event for all NATO partners, including Armenia and Azerbaijan. So I expect both countries to participate. This will take place at the level of foreign ministers. A total of 30 partner countries will take part,” he said.