U.S. Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations, Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Philip Reeker commented on the latest aggression of Azerbaijan against Armenia and the prospects of the ongoing negotiations between the two countries.

“I was in the region during the September 13-14 fighting and met with President Aliyev on September 14 to urge an end to the violence”, Mr. Reeker said during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. “My meetings with Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders paralleled urgent and around-the-clock engagements with leadership of the two countries by Secretary Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Assistant Secretary Donfried, and Deputy Assistant Secretary Erika Olson, as well as by our colleagues at the Department of Defense. Those engagements have continued since, and the joint efforts of the United States, EU, and partner countries have paved the way for a series of meetings between Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders to discuss peace”, he said.

Mr. Reeker added that despite recent hostilities, they are encouraged by the pace of engagement by Armenian and Azerbaijani leadership in the peace process. “The leaders have met for negotiations on multiple occasions in recent months as part of an EU-facilitated peace process, most recently in Prague on October 6. The Prague meeting produced two meaningful outcomes that have the potential to pave the way for peace: mutual recognition of the 1991 Almaty Declaration as a basis for border discussions, and acceptance of an EU “Monitoring Capacity” with the potential to build confidence amongst the sides and deescalate potential hostilities”, he said.