Trilateral Armenia-US-EU meeting focused on economy, political reforms: US diplomat

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - A senior US diplomat on Friday said the trilateral meeting in Brussels between Armenia, the EU, and the US focused on economic diversification and political reforms, while also urging Armenia to "continue the path toward peace."

"This meeting was about reforms in Armenia, but we certainly encouraged Armenia to continue the path toward peace and try to achieve a final agreement with Azerbaijan," Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien told reporters in a virtual briefing.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met in Brussels Friday, though the absence of Azerbaijan in the trilateral meeting raised concerns in Baku.

"The purpose of the meeting was to help focus on Armenia’s economic diversification, its political reforms and on humanitarian assistance," O'Brien said about the meeting.

"We also know that this meeting is happening in a context where there are ongoing efforts to reach a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan," O'Brien said.

The US encouraged Armenia to continue the path toward peace, he said.

"This is the best path for the region to have security over the long term and the development of prosperity, particularly new trading routes that could run from the Mediterranean into Central Asia," he added.

One day ahead of Friday's meeting in Brussels, Blinken held a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

According to Azerbaijani presidency's readout of the call, Aliyev told Blinken that the trilateral talks, which are "non-inclusive" and were organized in a "non-transparent" manner, will not lead to peace and cooperation in the South Caucasus.

Aliyev also held a phone call with Europan Commission president on Thursday.

Türkiye also criticized the trilateral meeting in Brussels, saying the absence of Azerbaijan would undermine the region's neutral approach to complex problems, potentially fueling geopolitical confrontation.

O’Brien said the conversations between Aliyev, Blinken and von der Leyen were "very good and constructive.”

The senior US diplomat said a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia is the "best path for the region to have security over the long term and the development of prosperity, particularly new trading routes that could run from the Mediterranean into Central Asia".

Noting that the US has had "extensive conversations" with all the countries in the region, including Türkiye, about the importance of building a transport corridor, O'Brien said: “I believe there's great willingness and interest in seeing movement in that direction.”

He said a study of the possibilities of such a trade corridor was discussed during the meeting in Brussels, adding that such corridor can bring goods, such as grain, energy, textiles, and other products from Central Asia to the Mediterranean.

“There's another possible route that would run into the Black Sea as well. And this sort of middle corridor, this transit corridor, will be available for all the people of the region to benefit and to create industries that benefit from the movement of these kinds of goods,” he said.

"This is a generational project when they would change the economies of Central Asian countries because they would have transit outlets other than through Russia or China, all the way through to Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Türkiye," O'Brien said, adding that this kind of commitment requires stability and peace.

"We've made clear our willingness to support the development of this project and every way we can," he added.