Blinken Urges Aliyev to Sign Peace Deal with Armenia, Release the ‘Unjustly Detained’

In a phone conversation with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged him to sign a peace agreement with Armenia “without delay.”

“The Secretary recognized ongoing progress by Armenia and Azerbaijan toward a peace agreement and underscored the significance of concluding an agreement without delay,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a readout of the call.

Miller said Blinken “reiterated the United States remains willing to support further engagement in any way useful to the parties.”

Blinken reportedly again urged “Azerbaijan to adhere to its international human rights obligations and commitments and release all those unjustly detained. He called on Azerbaijan to do so expeditiously.”

Aliyev and other high-ranking Azerbaijani officials have preconditioned the approval of a peace deal with demands that Armenia change its Constitution, in which, they say Armenia has territorial claims from Azerbaijan.

Yerevan has rejected Baku’s demands, saying that amending the Constitution is Armenia’s domestic affair.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan reiterated Armenia’s readiness to sign a peace deal in the coming month.

“We are ready to conclude the treaty during the upcoming month as we have already proposed,” Mirzoyan said Thursday during a visit to Lithuania.

“Unfortunately, we have not been hearing from the Azerbaijani side so far. Moreover, Azerbaijan is bringing up new issues, which at least raises questions about their sincerity towards the final goal of establishing peace in our neighborhood and broader region,” he added.

In response to Baku’s angry reaction to Armenia’s fresh arms acquisition from France, the Armenian foreign ministry warned that Azerbaijan was planning to unleash a new wave military offensives following the United Nations Climate Summit in Baku in November.