U.S. comments on joint statement of Azerbaijani and Armenian FMs

Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia at a meeting in Washington agreed to speed up negotiations, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a press conference.

"The foreign ministers agreed to expedite their negotiations," State Department spokesman Ned Price said of Monday's talks between Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.

"Yesterday was positive in that the two sides met, they surfaced many of their areas of disagreement, at the end of the day they were able to agree on a joint statement. They were able to agree to continue meeting, engaging in direct dialogue and diplomacy in the weeks that follow."

"But it is not for us to prescribe what this lasting comprehensive peace between the two countries might look like. We are not presenting them with a document that is ready to sign. We are doing everything we can to help enable the diplomacy that they themselves will need to undertake," he added.