US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on April 3.

According to the press service of the Azerbaijani president, Blinken noted that he decided to clarify in the information he received about concerns of Azerbaijan about upcoming trilateral meeting between the United States, the EU and Armenia on April 5.

According to the US Secretary of State, the main essence of this meeting will be the issues of economic development of Armenia.

In turn, Aliyev said that, according to his information, in the process of preparing for the trilateral meeting, issues of military support for Armenia and joint military exercises, the creation of military infrastructure in the bordering with Azerbaijan territories, armament of Armenia through the European Peace Mechanism of the EU and the US budget were also discussed.

The head of state emphasized that such anti-Azerbaijani steps and the policy of arming Armenia by France serve the arms race and will lead to provocations in the region.

Blinken assured Aliyev that the April 5 meeting was not aimed at Azerbaijan.

During the telephone conversation, issues of negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia were discussed as well.

According to Aliyev, discussions between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia on the text of the peace agreement in Berlin were useful in terms of advancing the process and there is a need to speed up negotiations.

Aliyev also called Western accusations against Azerbaijan about Baku’s alleged plans to attack Armenia unfounded. In this regard, Aliyev called the statement of the French Foreign Minister on April 2 at a press conference with Blinken about Azerbaijan’s non-recognition of the territorial integrity of Armenia and its creation of a threat to Armenia a lie.

Aliyev reaffirmed Azerbaijan's commitment to the statement adopted in October 2022 in Prague and the Almaty Declaration of 1991.

The President of Azerbaijan expressed the opinion that the non-transparent preparation of the trilateral meeting on April 5 of the US, EU and Armenia, its non-inclusive nature and its non-postponement in connection with Baku’s remarks, will not contribute to peace and cooperation in the South Caucasus, but will lead to the creation of dividing lines and ultimately the emergence of tension.

Aliyev and Blinken also discussed issues of bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and the United States. Blinken, recalling discussions with Aliyev in February of this year within the framework of the Munich Security Conference, announced the US intention to expand cooperation with Azerbaijan in various fields. He also noted the contacts between representatives of the two countries in preparation for the upcoming COP29 conference in Baku.

Aliyev, for his part, noted that Azerbaijan is also interested in developing ties with the United States in the areas discussed at the meeting in Munich. He noted that COP29 offers good opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in the field of climate change green technologies.

Source - turan.az

04 April 2024 / 12:39