Baku will not participate in the scheduled meeting of the heads of the Foreign Ministries of Armenia and Azerbaijan, which was to take place in Washington on November 20. This decision was made in response to statements by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien, as reported on the website of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
"The statements about the cancellation of bilateral meetings and high-level contacts at the initiative of the U.S., and the assertion that 'our bilateral relations cannot be as before', indicate that relations cannot be one-sided. Consequently, Azerbaijan will apply a similar approach. Under such circumstances, we consider it inappropriate to entertain the possibility of high-level U.S. visits to Azerbaijan," the ministry's statement reads.
The diplomats claim that during a hearing on November 15 at the House Foreign Affairs Committee, O'Brien made "one-sided and biased statements" that are "baseless and unacceptable."
Baku also asserts that "the United States, as a non-regional country, with its actions and statements, undermines the efforts of the region's countries to ensure transport security." Additionally, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry declared that Azerbaijan reaffirms the priority of the "3+2" format (Azerbaijan-Armenia-Turkey-Russia-Iran) for ensuring security in the region.
During the discussion, O'Brien stated that the next few weeks would be critical for a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. He also noted the need for the withdrawal of the Russian peacekeeping contingent from Karabakh.
