Another Hysteria in Azerbaijan Related to Armenia

The conversation between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has raised hysteria in the Azerbaijani domain. The reason being that the State Department's press release mentioned that the topic of resuming the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace negotiation process with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group representatives was also discussed during the Blinken-Aliyev phone call.

According to the Azerbaijani state media haqqin.az, on July 25, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Secretary Blinken emphasized that the U.S. supports the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and appreciates the direct dialogue between the foreign ministers of the two countries in Tbilisi.

President Ilham Aliyev qualified the meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Tbilisi as the first step towards signing a peace treaty between the two countries. The country’s leader stated that Azerbaijan has already formed the composition of its commission for the preparation of a peace agreement and expects similar steps from Armenia.

Antony Blinken fully supported the programs to unblock transport links and communications between Armenia and Azerbaijan, expressing the U.S.'s readiness to provide technical assistance in this process. During the conversation, the significance of the recently signed memorandum of understanding in the energy sector, signed between Azerbaijan and the European Commission, was noted with satisfaction.

Subsequently, addressing humanitarian issues, the President mentioned that more than 3,890 Azerbaijanis have been considered missing in the first Armenian-Azerbaijani war and drew the Secretary of State's attention to the fact that despite repeated calls to Armenia, Azerbaijan still lacks information about the mass graves of its citizens.

President Ilham Aliyev also stated that a significant part of the territories liberated from Azerbaijani occupation has been mined by Armenia, and since the end of the war, more than 240 Azerbaijani citizens have died or been injured due to mine explosions.

During the phone call, there was also an exchange of thoughts regarding the prospects of U.S.-Azerbaijan cooperation. The media notes that, alongside the press service of the Azerbaijani president, a press release was issued by the U.S. State Department after Aliyev's conversation with Blinken. The State Department's statement mentioned that during the conversation, among other topics, the resumption of the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group representatives in the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace negotiations was discussed.

According to diplomatic sources cited by haqqin.az, there was no mention of the Minsk Group in Aliyev's conversation with Blinken, leading the source to express genuine surprise at such obvious misinformation, calling it extremely inappropriate and even irresponsible. It is neither effective nor correct to discuss the idea of reviving the long-forgotten OSCE Minsk Group.