German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met separately with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, with the German leader saying the bitter Caucasus rivals had agreed to resolve their differences "without new violence."
“Germany and Europe stand ready to do everything in their power to support the peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Scholz said after meeting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on February 17.
"I reaffirmed this in my talks with both countries. It's a good thing that both sides have pledged to resolve open issues without new violence," he added.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken met with Aliyev and that the two "discussed efforts to achieve a durable peace agreement" between the Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani state-run Azertag news agency quoted Aliyev as saying that Baku "remains committed to the peace process. The conclusion of a peace treaty in the near future meets the country's national interests."
The State Department said Blinken also met with Pashinian "to discuss strengthening bilateral ties and U.S. support for efforts to reach a durable and dignified peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan."
"Secretary Blinken noted our ongoing efforts to support Armenia’s vision for a prosperous and democratic future for its people, as well as U.S. support for Armenia’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity," a statement added.
Long-standing tensions between the two countries have soared since Azerbaijan retook the Armenian-populated breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh following a lightning-fast military strike in September 2023.
The meeting with Scholz comes days after the latest flare-up of violence along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border -- the first major escalation in months.
SEE ALSO: Armenia Says 4 Soldiers Killed By Azerbaijani Fire; Baku Says Operation Was RetaliationIn that incident, the Armenian Defense Ministry said four Armenian soldiers were shot dead and one wounded by Azerbaijani fire early on February 13 at one of the southern sections of their border.
Azerbaijan's State Border Service said its forces had "completely destroyed" an Armenian border post during a "revenge operation" after Baku accused Armenian troops of opening fire on February 12 in the direction of Azerbaijani positions in the Zangelan district, claiming that one Azerbaijani border guard was wounded.
Following the Scholz meeting, Nazeli Baghdasarian, a spokeswoman for the Armenian prime minister's office, confirmed that a three-party session involving the Armenian, Azerbaijani, and German leaders took place.
"The process of regulating Armenia-Azerbaijan relations and steps to ensure peace and stability in the region were discussed," she said. "An agreement has been made to continue the work on the peace treaty."
Azertag confirmed the meeting took place and that Scholz had reiterated his support for the peace process
The Azerbaijani news agency APA reported that Scholz left the meeting room about an hour after the start of the negotiations and they continued in a bilateral format.
APA said Aliyev and Pashinian instructed their foreign ministers, who also attended the meeting, to "continue negotiations" on the peace treaty and the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
Azerbaijan had for months refused to hold further Western-mediated talks with Armenia, accusing the European Union and the United States of pro-Armenian bias and seeking direct contacts between the two sides.
"We don’t need mediators to normalize relations with Yerevan," Aliyev said on February 13, adding that the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict "should be removed from the international agenda."
Yerevan, meanwhile, has insisted on continued Western mediation -- which has also been strongly criticized by Russia. Armenia accused Baku of walking away from understandings reached by Aliyev and Pashinian during their earlier encounters organized by the EU.
On February 14, Pashinian claimed that the Azerbaijani leadership was pursuing a "policy of military coercion" in an effort to extract more Armenian concessions.
He said it could be planning to launch a "full-scale war against Armenia." The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry dismissed the claim.