Armitage Fails to Convince Aliyev to Open Armenia Border

After his meetings in Baku, Armitage said that Aliyev did not seem very receptive to Washington’s suggestion. Armitage speculated that part of the reason for Aliyev’s demeanor might have been related to the fact that Aliyev thinks it would be very difficult to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict if Azerbaijan were to reopen their border with Armenia at the present time.

Armitage added that the U.S. does not have any plan to establish a military base in Azerbaijan and that the topic was not even on the agenda of their talks. He also conveyed the U.S.’s concerns about resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. "Incidents in Kosovo roused concerns that fierce fighting might resume in Nagorno-Karabakh." Armitage emphasized that basic recommendations for a solution have to be prepared by Yerevan and Baku.