CIA Director Meets With Armenian Prime Minister, Security Council Secretary In Yerevan

CIA Director William Burns at a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in Yerevan on July 15.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on July 15 received U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns, Pashinian’s press office said.

The two “discussed issues related to international and regional security and the fight against terrorism. Reference was made to processes taking place in the South Caucasus region,” the brief statement said.

While in Yerevan, Burns also met with the secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, Armen Grigorian, whose office said the two discussed issues related to the further development of U.S.- Armenia bilateral relations.

Grigorian outlined for the CIA director the security environment in the region, existing challenges, and Armenia’s approach to establishing peace in the region, a statement from Grigorian’s office said.

“The sides talked about Armenia-Azerbaijan and Armenia-Turkey negotiation processes,” the statement said.

Official Armenian bodies and the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan would not comment on media reports about Burns’ visit to Yerevan.

Burns, 66, served as U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2005-08. He visited Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2011 in his capacity as U.S. deputy secretary of state.

During that trip, he urged a greater “sense of urgency” for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying that “the status quo is not sustainable.”