Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The talks took place at the initiative of the US side, the press service of the Head of state reports.
During the conversation, Blinken said that the upcoming the US-EU-Armenia trilateral meeting, which is to be held on April 5 in Brussels, would focus on issues of Armenia's economic development.
In turn, Aliyev noted that, according to the information available to him, during the preparation for the meeting, issues related to military support for Yerevan, as well as holding joint military exercises, creating military infrastructure on the border of the two countries, arming Armenia according to European standards and at the expense of US budget had been discussed.
The President emphasized that such anti-Azerbaijani steps, including Paris' policy of arming Armenia, encourage the arms race in the South Caucasus and lead to provocations. Blinken assured his interlocutor that the upcoming meeting was not directed against Baku.
In addition to this, the parties discussed peace negotiations between the states. Aliyev said that the Berlin negotiations on a peace treaty were useful in terms of advancing the process. He pointed out the importance of accelerating negotiations.
The Head of state also emphasized that Western accusations about Azerbaijan's intention to attack Armenia were completely groundless. In addition to this, Aliyev added that Baku was committed to the declaration adopted during the Prague meeting in 2022 and the Almaty Declaration.
