11:24, 3 May 2023
YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. The United States remains committed to promoting a peaceful future in the South Caucasus, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel has said when asked on the ongoing trilateral foreign ministerial talks in Washington D.C. involving Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“We remain committed to this process and remain committed to promoting a peaceful future in the South Caucasus. We believe that direct dialogue is key to resolving the issues, but I’m just not going to get ahead of the meetings themselves,” Patel said, refusing to release updates on the meetings.
“But we obviously have had a number of officials from the U.S. side deeply engaged on this. Obviously, Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations Lou Bono has been deeply engaged in this not just through these meetings but through his continued engagement in the South Caucuses. You know that Secretary Blinken attended the plenary session yesterday morning and had the opportunity to host these ministers for a dinner Sunday night. And so it’s something that we will continue to be deeply engaged on,” he added.
Patel declined to comment whether or not Blinken has plans to hold another meeting with the foreign ministers.