Armenia interested in achieving lasting peace in the region - Ararat Mirzoyan
YEREVAN, 22 October. /ARKA/. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan received on Tuesday a delegation led by Michael Carpenter, Special Assistant to the President of the United States and Senior Director for Europe at the National Security Council, the ministry said.
During the meeting, issues on the Armenia-U.S. bilateral agenda, including current programs aimed at developing the strategic partnership, positive dynamics, and future prospects, were discussed.
"Armenia is interested in continuing to develop relations with the U.S. in areas of mutual interest, building the cooperation on common values, already recorded achievements, and exploring also additional opportunities for sectoral engagement," emphasized the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia.
Ararat Mirzoyan and Michael Carpenter exchanged views on issues of regional stability and security.
The Foreign Minister of Armenia stressed the efforts made by the Republic of Armenia in the direction of establishing peace in the South Caucasus and touched upon the recent discussions in the normalization process of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations.
In this context, Minister Mirzoyan emphasized Armenia's interest in achieving lasting peace in the region. Ararat Mirzoyan added that Armenia’s position found its clear expression in the approach to sign the peace treaty with Azerbaijan in the shortest timeframe, as well as in the country’s vision towards ensuring economic development in the region.
Before arriving in Armenia, Carpenter visited Azerbaijan to deliver a letter from U.S. President Joe Biden to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
According to reports from Baku, Biden urged Aliyev to conclude a peace agreement with Armenia by the end of this year.
‘A peace agreement will not only ensure Azerbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrity, but will also transform the entire region, paving the way for increased trade, investment and ties between Europe and Central Asia,’ Biden said.
эAs the world's attention turns to Baku at COP29 [climate summit], you have a unique opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to peace before a global audience. As you know, finalising the remaining articles of the peace agreement will require creativity and compromise on all sides. But I am confident that you will not miss this moment and I urge you to finalise the agreement this year,’ the letter added.
Aliyev is said to have repeated his main condition for any peace agreement with Armenia: changing the Armenian constitution, which he claims contains territorial claims against Azerbaijan. He had earlier rejected an Armenian proposal to sign an agreement containing the vast majority of the 16 articles of a draft peace treaty already agreed by the two sides.-0-
