By Mark Dovich
State Department spokesperson Ned Price reiterated Washington’s commitment to “a comprehensive long-term peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan” at a press briefing Wednesday.
They were Price’s first public remarks on the Karabakh conflict since releasing a statement calling for “de-escalation” earlier this month after major fighting broke out in the region.
The United States remains “committed to working with the parties” to the conflict and “will continue to do so bilaterally, but also with likeminded partners in the EU and through our role as an OSCE Minsk co-chair,” Price said.
He added that this month’s escalation in hostilities, which left at least two Karabakh Armenian soldiers and one Azerbaijani soldier dead, underscores “the need for a negotiated, comprehensive, and sustainable settlement of all remaining issues related to or resulting from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
When pressed by a reporter about whether the escalation — one of the biggest since the end of the 2020 war — undermined what Secretary of State Antony Blinken just last month termed a “historic opportunity to achieve peace in the region,” Price stressed that “we absolutely still see an opportunity here despite the setbacks.”
“We believe that through continued dialogue, continued engagement, including at the senior levels, we will be in a position to do everything we can to help advance that long-term comprehensive peace,” Price said.
