Blinken hosts Armenia and Azerbaijan diplomats to boost US mediation role
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has hosted a high-level meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov, in a bid to elevate Washington’s role as a mediator in the South Caucasus. Monday's meeting in Washington was the second involving the two countries to be chaired by Mr Blinken in less than five weeks. Mr Blinken reiterated the Biden administration's commitment to peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. “Direct dialogue is the best way to a truly durable peace, and we are very pleased to support that,” he said. Mr Blinken said the 30-year conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region has had taken a tremendous toll and left "scars that are deep". But following a truce that Washington brokered last September, Mr Blinken said: “What we are seeing now are real steps, and courageous steps, by both countries to put the past behind and to work toward a durable peace.” Mr Blinken said the US strongly supports the ...