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US Secretary of State Antony Brinken met with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday to promote peace between the two former Soviet states after more than 200 people died in a new border clash.
Blinken brought Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov together at a hotel in New York on the occasion of the annual UN General Assembly. It was the first time he had seen them since fighting broke out last week.
Brinken, who has met with the leaders of both countries several times, said the United States was encouraged by a ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan after two days of shelling.
“A strong and sustainable diplomatic engagement is the best way forward for everyone,” he said. “There is a path to lasting peace that resolves differences.”
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Ahead of Monday’s talks, Bayramov said his country was “comfortable with the level of relations” with the United States and said a face-to-face meeting with Mirzoyan was not uncommon.
The Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is at the center of the conflict, is ethnically Armenian but legally part of Azerbaijan, a situation that has led to decades of violence.
The talks came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned Azerbaijan’s attack on Armenia as “illegal” during a press conference with Armenian officials on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Azeri government dismissed Pelosi’s comments as “Armenian propaganda.”
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The latest round of fighting was the worst since 2020, and during the six-week war Azerbaijan recaptured a large swath of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent territory held by Armenian forces. Died.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.