During an interview with Voice of America, former US Deputy Secretary of State and former senior advisor for negotiations in the Caucasus, Philip Reeker, said that today there is a real opportunity to reach peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“The two leaders need to meet and listen to each other, talk to each other, engage in dialogue as much as possible to better understand each other, to understand where they are moving and what their concerns are,” Reeker said.
According to him, ensuring security in the South Caucasus will create wide opportunities for the development of trade, energy projects, and infrastructure in the region.
The former high-ranking diplomat considered this long-term conflict in the South Caucasus a tragedy, which took many lives, caused losses, and neutralized development opportunities for decades. According to Reeker, the international community, including the Secretary of State Blinken, the President of the European Council Michel, is making great efforts to achieve a long-term, stable peace between the parties. During his tenure, he urged the parties to withdraw their troops.
The former diplomat called the statements of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan as “constructive”, at the same time he emphasized that the peace agreement should include different concepts, sovereignty and territorial integrity are a part of it. The former envoy also emphasized the issues of security and rights of the people living in Nagorno-Karabakh, which, according to him, Baku should discuss with them.
“We are at a point where there really is a possibility of peace and agreement, and that is the main difference from previous rounds,” Reeker added.
