US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stated that Armenia and Azerbaijan have made "tangible progress" towards reaching a consensus on a durable peace agreement during US-hosted talks.

The talks, which took place over four days in Arlington, Virginia, were attended by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.

“The two sides have discussed some very tough issues over the last few days and they’ve made tangible progress on a durable peace agreement.  I hope that they see – and I believe that they do, as I do – that there is an agreement within sight, within reach,” Blinken said at a closing session for the bilateral peace negotiation.

“And achieving that agreement would be, I think, not only historic, but would be profoundly in the interests of the people of Azerbaijan and Armenia, and would have very positive effects even beyond their two countries,” he added.

The two sides have fought two wars over Nagorno-Karabakh, most recently in 2020, and tensions flared last month when Azerbaijan installed a road checkpoint at the start of the Lachin Corridor.

While progress has been made, positions on key issues remain different, and discussions will continue. (ILKHA)