Rubio Warns of Risk for Renewed Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States is seeking to prevent a renewed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as he warned a potential risk of a military flare up.

“The risk of renewed armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia remains, and efforts are being made by Washington to prevent it,” Rubio said in a statement to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“With regard to Azerbaijan, our main focus has been to work towards establishing peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Rubio said.

He added that Washington is also addressing issues related to prisoners and human rights in Azerbaijan.

Rubio acknowledged  “we have to deal with countries that in many cases do not have an ideal model.”

Despite this, he said the U.S. is engaging both Yerevan and Baku based on national interests while striving to balance those interests with diplomacy.

Rubio was quick to welcome an announcement by Armenia and Azerbaijan that they had reached an agreement on the final language of a peace treaty. His remarks were deemed “premature,” as President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and other officials continued to push preconditions for signing of the treaty.

Following a telephone conversation between Rubio and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in late March, the State Department said the two spoke about “shared interests.”

“The Secretary welcomed the agreement on a peace treaty with Azerbaijan and underlined the importance of a lasting peace to break the cycle of regional conflict and bring security and prosperity to the South Caucasus,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement at the time.

“The Secretary and Prime Minister agreed that escalation of any form in the South Caucasus is unacceptable,” Bruce added.

Days after Baku and Yerevan announced an agreement on the final language of a peace treaty, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said he had told leaders in Azerbaijan to finalize a peace deal with Armenia and release all prisoners, as a way to make the region secure.

“Conflict in the South Caucasus must end,” Waltz posted on X on March 17. “I spoke this week with Mr. Hikmet Hajiyev, the national security advisor for President Aliyev in Azerbaijan.”

“We are pleased Azerbaijan and Armenia have taken a big step forward and agreed to a peace treaty.  I told him we should finalize this peace deal now, release the prisoners, and work together to make the region more secure and prosperous,” he followed up in his post.

“America’s Golden Age will bring peace and prosperity to the world, and we won’t stop working until that happens,” Waltz boasted.