At the conclusion of his visit to Armenia, the United States Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations Ambassador Philip Reeker pledged to support a comprehensive peaceful settlement of all issues between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan said in a statement on Saturday.
“Ambassador Reeker reiterated the U.S. commitment to promoting a secure, stable, democratic, prosperous, and peaceful future for the South Caucasus region. The United States will continue to engage bilaterally, with like-minded partners, such as the European Union, and multilaterally to support a comprehensive peaceful settlement of all issues between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” the Embassy said.
It also added that Reeker met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Armenia’s National Security Secretary Armen Grigoryan, as well as Armenia’s envoy on normalization of relations with Turkey, Ruben Rubinyan.
According to Armenia’s foreign ministry, during his meeting with Reeker, Mirzoyan underscored the importance of utilizing the potential and experience of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship institution in context of a lasting and comprehensive resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
Mirzoyan also addressed the humanitarian issues caused by the 44-day war, in this context highlighting the need of immediate repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees, as well as preservation of Armenian cultural and religious heritage in territories which have gone under Azerbaijani control.
The parties reportedly discussed several issues pertaining to regional security and stability and exchanged views on the normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations.
Mirzoyan also underscored the role the U.S., as a Minsk Group co-charing country, can play in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.