U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced optimism today over a potential peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, suggesting it could be reached soon with U.S. support.
Speaking during a White House Cabinet meeting with President Trump and top Administration officials, Rubio highlighted a range of recent global developments and said: “We’ve prevented and ended a war between India and Pakistan, NATO is now at 5% for the first time ever… a peace deal between the [DRC] and Rwanda, a 12?day war that ended with an American operation that we’re the only country in the world that could have done, hopefully pretty soon a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The entire Middle East and the infrastructure of it has the potential now to change because of Syria and Lebanon. And it hasn’t even been six months,” he said.
Rubio has regularly spotlighted the South Caucasus in U.S. foreign policy. In a March phone call with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, he welcomed progress toward a peace treaty and stressed the need for long-term regional stability. During testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in May, he warned that Armenia faced a “real risk” of renewed conflict and reaffirmed U.S. commitment to supporting a resolution.
Commenting on Rubio’s remarks, Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), stated: “The path to a real peace — a just and lasting peace — between Armenians and Azerbaijanis starts with the collective, protected return of Artsakh’s indigenous Armenians to their ancient Artsakh homeland.”
