U.S. says peace agreement between Azerbaijan, Armenia 'within reach'

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday said a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia is achievable.

"I was speaking just about a week ago to (Azerbaijani) President (Ilham) Aliyev on this I think that's achievable, and it's manifestly in the interests of both Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as the broader region," Blinken said in remarks at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.

In response to a question, Blinken said there is an "extraordinary opportunity, potential" to realize a peace agreement between the two countries to end decades of conflict and create an opportunity for economic connectivity and growth in the region.

"Azerbaijan has a critical role to play in that. We have invested intensely in our own diplomacy in trying to help bring Azerbaijan and Armenia to a peace agreement, we've done that in very close collaboration and coordination with the European Union, and I think that's something that really is within reach," he added.

Blinken's remarks came after Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said last week that his nation is ready to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan.

Speaking at a news conference in Armenia's capital Yerevan, Mirzoyan said a treaty may be drafted within a month.

The U.S. has invited the two southern Caucasus nations to the July 9-11 NATO summit in Washington, which marks the 75th anniversary of the Western security alliance.

"US 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," Jim O'Brien, top U.S. diplomat for Europe and Eurasia, told a Friday a press conference in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital.

Relations between Baku and Yerevan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a 44-day war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement that opened the door to normalization and the demarcation of their border.

Last September, Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh when separatist forces in the region surrendered.