Armenia and Azerbaijan battle over separatist region

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Armenia and Azerbaijan have made “further progress” toward a peace agreement in three days of U.S.-hosted talks between the two former Soviet republics that have repeatedly clashed over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Wrapping up discussions between Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on Thursday, Blinken said the two sides had shown a willingness to negotiate seriously with the goal of reaching a deal. But, he stressed that “hard work” remains to be done.

“I appreciate further progress toward this shared objective of an agreement to include agreement on some additional articles as well as a deepening understanding of the positions on outstanding issues, as well as the recognition that there remains hard work to be done to try to reach a final agreement,” Blinken said at the end of the closed-door talks at the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute in northern Virginia.

“We look forward to continuing this process in the weeks ahead to take advantage of the momentum that we’ve helped achieve through these meetings,” he said. “I very much appreciate the spirit of candor, openness, directness that everyone has exhibited. That is the way ultimately to reach understanding and finally to reach agreement.” ...