EU to host new Armenia-Azerbaijan talks "in the coming days" - Ned Price

The US State Department spokesman Ned Price has said in a briefing on Wednesday (22 February) that the European Council President Charles Michel will host new Armenia-Azerbaijan talks "in the coming days".

Answering a question from a journalist whether Secretary of State Antony Blinken had sounded "over-optimistic" in a statement that said he "took note of significant progress [that Armenia and Azerbaijan] have made over the last several months", Ned Price answered:

"He was reflecting what we’ve seen over the last couple months. This has been the result of engagement between the parties. This has been the result of bilateral engagement with the United States, trilateral engagement with the United States, the work that the EU has done in their diplomacy as well, and what we hope to see when the parties come together in Brussels in the coming days in the talks hosted by President Michel of the EU.

"So, we hope to see a continuation of that progress. We are not being Pollyannaish [irrepressibly optimistic], but we are continuing to support this dialogue, this diplomacy, towards a comprehensive solution in every way we possibly can."

He added that the US will "do everything we can to see that progress continue".

source: commonspace.eu with U.S. Department of State
photo: Armenpress