The contested region is known to Azerbaijan as Nagorno-Karabakh, and to Armenians as Artsakh, a mountainous area slightly larger than Rhode Island. The crux of the dispute is a breakaway enclave of territory within Azerbaijan that is populated by ethnic Armenians and controlled by pro-Armenian separatists. Fighting in 2020 killed nearly 7,000 soldiers, and deadly skirmishes broke out again last month. The two former Soviet republics have had territorial disputes for years. And as I say, I think we’re very much within reach of that.”īut military actions have overshadowed diplomatic gestures in recent months. “But the United States is here to continue to help both of our friends cross the finish line. “The last mile of any marathon is always the hardest we know that,” Blinken said as he thanked his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts for their efforts. “I hope that they see - and I believe that they do, as I do - that there is an agreement within sight, within reach.”īlinken said he expected more talks would take place, but did not offer a detailed schedule. “The two sides have discussed some very tough issues over the last few days and they’ve made tangible progress on a durable peace agreement,” Blinken said. Blinken, signaling the conclusion of the meetings, was unable to announce any decisions. The talks - the first to bring together the foreign ministers of the two countries in a room for multiple days - started Sunday night and wrapped up Thursday. The Biden administration hosted risky peace talks this week between bitter South Caucasus rivals Armenia and Azerbaijan, hoping to avert a second major war in the region but failing to bridge stubborn differences between the two sides.

Peace talks butcher