On Thursday, Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry announced its decision not to participate in a scheduled meeting with Armenia’s foreign minister in Washington on November 20, citing the “one-sided approach of the United States.”
The ministry stated that senior U.S. officials were also unwelcome in Baku for the same reason. Meanwhile, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expressed his intention to escalate political and diplomatic efforts to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan.
The two countries have long-standing conflicts, notably over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but predominantly populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians until recaptured by Baku in September.
Azerbaijan objected to what it called “one-sided and biased” comments by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O’Brien, accusing the U.S. of supporting Armenia, which it considers an aggressor.
O’Brien emphasized that there can’t be ‘business as usual’ in Washington’s relations with Baku, citing cancellations of high-level bilateral meetings and urging Azerbaijan to facilitate the return of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians and restore unimpeded traffic in the region.
Azerbaijan’s Prime Minister Ali Asadov previously stated that Baku had been committed to peace and restoring transport links with Armenia since 2020.
