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

On June 20, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a phone call to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

During the telephone conversation, Antony Blinken welcomed the progress made in advancing the peace agenda between Armenia and Azerbaijan, emphasizing that the United States is determined to continue supporting the normalization of relations between the two countries. He invited the parties to sign the peace agreement shortly. Noting the importance the United States attaches to its bilateral relations with Azerbaijan, the Secretary of State underlined the constructive cooperation between the two countries in achieving shared goals on climate change and in the energy sector. Antony Blinken said that his country supports renewed and stronger bilateral relations with Azerbaijan. He also added that the United States would spare no effort in delivering a successful COP29 to be hosted by Azerbaijan.

Noting that peace has been ensured in the region, and that the Azerbaijani side was an initiator of the text and underlying principles of the peace treaty, President Ilham Aliyev stressed the ongoing efforts to advance the normalization process and the peace agenda on a bilateral basis. Praising the United States’ determination to contribute to the peace agenda, the head of state underscored the significance of Armenia ceasing its territorial claims against Azerbaijan, which are enshrined in Armenia’s constitution, relevant laws, and internal legal acts, to advance the peace agenda.

President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that it was long overdue to officially terminate the non-functional OSCE Minsk Group’s activities and all associated institutions, thus officially closing the chapter on the conflict, which is now a relic of the past. President Ilham Aliyev touched upon the long-standing successful cooperation between the two countries in the energy sector. He hailed the fruitful collaboration between the delegations of both countries in the fight against climate change and the preparations for COP29, and thanked the United States for the intention to support the successful hosting of COP29. The head of state emphasized that Azerbaijan attaches significance to the relations with the U.S. and supported further strengthening and elevating the bilateral ties to a qualitatively new level.

During the phone conversation, they expressed satisfaction with the high-level exchange of letters between our countries, reciprocal visits ofdelegations, and shared their views on important issues such as human rights, democracy, and respect for the domestic legislation in every country.