On July 25, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a phone call to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.

Noting that the United States supports normalizing relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the meeting and direct dialogue between the two countries' foreign ministers in Tbilisi.

President Ilham Aliyev described the meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia held in Tbilisi as the first step toward starting negotiations on a peace treaty between the two countries. The head of state said that Azerbaijan has already formed the composition of its commission on preparing the peace treaty and expects the same step to be taken by Armenia.

Antony Blinken also pointed out that the United States is ready for the opening of transport connections and communications between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as providing technical support in this regard.

During the conversation, the sides stressed the importance of the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding in the energy field between Azerbaijan and the European Commission.

Touching upon the humanitarian issues, the head of state stated that more than 3,890 Azerbaijanis had been considered missing persons since the first Armenia-Azerbaijan war and highlighted the fact that despite repeated appeals to the Armenian side, no information had been provided on the locations of mass graves.

President Ilham Aliyev underlined that the liberated territories of Azerbaijan were mined extensively by Armenia, and more than 240 Azerbaijani citizens had died or had their health damaged in mine explosions since the end of the war.

During the phone conversation, the sides exchanged views on the prospects for cooperation.