US ambassador: Azerbaijani president’s statement on Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia consultations “hopeful”

Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev’s statement on prospects for consultations between Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan as part of efforts for a peace deal in the conflict between the latter countries is “hopeful”, US ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan said on Monday.

Degnan was responding to a statement by Aliyev earlier during the day and as part of his visit to Georgia, with the Azerbaijani leader noting there was “an opportunity to hold consultations” between the three countries and adding his government was “ready to start this format today” if its Armenian counterparts expressed interest.

The ambassador highlighted Georgia’s role as a mediator in talks between its neighbour countries last year, which led to Azerbaijan’s release of 15 Armenian prisoners of war in exchange for receiving from Armenia a map of landmines in the Aghdam district of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

As for Georgia’s role as a mediator, we remember very well a year ago when certain steps were taken after the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict and Georgia played a role in releasing detainees, and this was a successful story of Georgia as a mediator in the process”, she said.

The US diplomat added areas such as energy or economy held prospects for further development between the three neighbouring states, adding the potential could be reached through cooperation and more dialogue between the sides.