U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has welcomed a recent meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov in Tbilisi, Georgia, describing it as a "positive step".
"Direct dialogue is the surest path to resolving Azerbaijani and Armenian differences," Blinken said on Twitter Sunday, July 17.
The meeting was also high on the agenda of a phone call between Mirzoyan and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried Sunday.
According to a statement from the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the two discussed a number of issues related to regional security and stability.
Mirzoyan presented Donfried with the latest developments in the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The process of unblocking regional transport infrastructures and economic ties, the work of the border demarcation and border security commissions between Armenia and Azerbaijan was also on the table.
Mirzoyan emphasized that the Armenian side continues to emphasize the role of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship and co-chairing countries in the process of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The conversation came on the heels of the visit of the Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, to Armenia.
