United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned a select group of lawmakers that Azerbaijan might be planning to invade Armenia in the coming weeks, Politico reported on Oct. 13.
Officials familiar with the discussion told Politico that Blinken spoke about the possibility of an invasion in a conference call on Oct. 3.
The call addressed officials' questions about the U.S. response to Azerbaijan's September offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh.
During the call, Blinken reportedly told lawmakers that the State Department will not renew an established agreement that permits the U.S. to offer Azerbaijan military aid. The agreement has been renewed every year since 2002, but lapsed in June.
In the same conversation, Blinken warned that Azerbaijan may invade southern Armenia.
Following Baku's rapid Setp. 19 offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, which ended in a Russia-brokered ceasefire after one day, around 100,000 residents are reported to have fled the region for Armenia.
Yerevan has since expressed fears that Baku might have designs on sovereign Armenian territory.
Of particular concern is the southern region of Syunik, which Azerbaijan calls the Zangezur Corridor and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev refers to as "Western Azerbaijan."
Aliyev did not attend peace talks scheduled between Baku and Yerevan on Oct. 5 in Granada, Spain. Aliyev later suggested Georgia as a host country for negotiations with Armenia.
On the Oct. 3 call, Blinken expressed hopes that the conflict between Armeni and Azerbaijan could still be resolved through productive diplomatic talks, officials said.
Francis Farrell
