Michael Carpenter, Biden’s a special assistant and a senior official at the U.S. National Security Council, handed the letter to Pashinian during a meeting in Yerevan held the day after his talks in Baku with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
In a separate message on Monday also delivered by Carpenter, Biden urged Aliyev to conclude a peace agreement with Armenia before the end of this year.
“As you know, finalizing the remaining articles of the peace agreement will require persistence, ingenuity, and compromise,” read the letter to Pashinian released by the latter’s office. “But putting patriotism above politics, you have courageously and consistently chosen the path of peace – and I encourage you to finalize an agreement this year.”
“As you do, my administration is prepared to take bold initiatives that would help pave the way for peace. I have asked my Senior Director for Europe, Michael Carpenter, to brief you on some of the steps we would be willing to take and get your feedback on discussions with Azerbaijan,” added Biden.
An official Armenian readout of Pashinian’s meeting with Carpenter made no mention of those steps or the results of the U.S. official’s trip to Baku. It said the Armenian premier again repeated his proposal to sign an Armenian-Azerbaijani agreement that would contain most of the 16 articles of a draft peace treaty that have already been agreed upon by the two sides.
Baku has repeatedly rejected the proposal as unserious. It has also made clear that any peace deal is conditional on a change of the Armenian constitution which it says contains territorial claims to Azerbaijan. Aliyev reportedly reiterated this precondition during his meeting with Carpenter.
Biden’s letter to Aliyev fully or partly publicized by the Azerbaijani presidential office apparently did not mention the “bold initiatives” offered to Pashinian. The U.S. president cited the COP29 global climate summit that it will begin its work in Baku on November 11. He described the summit as a “unique opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to peace in front of a global audience.”
Armenian officials have expressed concern that Azerbaijan could invade Armenia after COP29. Earlier this month, Aliyev made fresh threats of military action, accusing Yerevan of playing “dangerous games.”
