The US has encouraged the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to meet in whatever format is most useful to them, the State Department spokesman noted at Tuesday’s Department press briefing.

“We believe direct dialogue is key to resolving issues and to reaching a lasting peace. It’s why [US] Secretary Blinken brought together his foreign minister counterparts from Armenia and Azerbaijan in New York City in September, the first time that the two had been in the same room since the recent flare-up of violence. It’s ultimately for Armenia and for Azerbaijan to decide whether [Russian] President Putin’s invitation would be helpful or useful to them in pursuit of that lasting peace,” Ned Price said.

And commenting on the repeated statements made by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, that the efforts of Brussels and Washington to normalize Armenian-Azerbaijani relations are solely promotional, Price noted that the American side takes issue with a characterization of its efforts being self-promotional.

“There is nothing self-promotional about seeking to put an end to years of conflict and to years of flare-ups that have led to violence and ultimately to deaths, both on the part of Armenians and the citizens of Azerbaijan. Our only goal here is to see and to help these countries work together to bring about a comprehensive and lasting peace, and ultimately to save lives. I don’t know what about that can be construed as self-promotional,” the US State Department spokesman added.