United States Invites Armenia and Azerbaijan to NATO Summit in Washington

The United States invited Armenia and Azerbaijan to an upcoming NATO summit in Washington that will mark the 75th anniversary of the Western security alliance.

Jame O’Brien, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, announced the invitation during a press briefing on Friday in Baku, where he is meeting with Azerbaijani officials to discuss regional matters including the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is hosting an event for all of NATO’s partners. That includes Armenia and Azerbaijan, so we expect them both to attend it. That’s the foreign ministerial level. So they will attend along with the other, a total of 30 partners,” O’Brien emphasized.

Armenia’s Foreign Ministry was quick to confirm the invitation and Yerevan’s participation in the event.

“Armenia has received an invitation to participate in the partner event of the NATO summit in Washington and related events marking the organization’s 75th anniversary, and has confirmed its participation,” Armenia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan told Armenpress.

The Azerbaijani Turan news agency had reported Thursday, citing diplomatic sources, that on July 15, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will be in Washington, where they may hold talks.

Armenia’s foreign ministry did not confirm whether Pashinyan will attend the event or hold talks with Aliyev.

The U.S. has been pushing Armenia and Azerbaijan to sign a peace treaty as quickly as possible.

While visiting Yerevan earlier this month, O’Brien told Azatutyun.am that a peace deal is important to Washington, because it would not only end the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, but also reduce Russian influence in the region and facilitate a new trade route from Central Asia to Turkey passing through Armenia.