No:218/23, Press release on the meeting of Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov with Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Erika Olson
20 April 2023 20:40
On 20 April 2023, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov received Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Erika Olson.
At the meeting, the sides discussed Azerbaijan-US bilateral relations, the current situation existing in the region, and steps taken towards the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Minister Jeyhun Bayramov stated that, as the side that put forward the main initiative towards normalization with Armenia in the post-conflict stage, including the signing of a future peace agreement, Azerbaijan is interested in the successful conclusion of the process. Despite this, Armenia’s efforts to hinder the process in the noted directions, its failure to respond for 6 weeks to Azerbaijan’s latest proposals on the text of the peace agreement, as well as a number of provocative statements and provocations were emphasized. Along with this, it was noted that, despite confidence-building measures such as the return to Armenia within a short period of servicemen who had crossed from Armenia into Azerbaijan by mistake, the recent violence against Azerbaijani servicemen in Armenia is an example of disruptive activity by Armenia. The importance of implementing the agreements reached between the sides in order to ensure lasting peace and security in the region was emphasized.
Erika Olson, in turn, stated the importance of establishing peace and stability in the region and the necessity of signing a peace agreement for this purpose. She emphasized that the US side is always ready to support these negotiations conducted between Azerbaijan and Armenia on a bilateral basis.
At the meeting, an exchange of views was conducted on other bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.
