US official talks about objectives behind his visit & reconciliation process

US Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations Louis Bono said that the objective of his visit is to bring Azerbaijan and Armenia together, Azernews reports.

He made the comments addressing local reporters.

"I am here to meet with officials from Azerbaijan. Tomorrow I will be meeting with officials from Yerevan in an effort to bring them together as soon as possible,” he added.

The official noted that the Munich meeting left him feeling optimistic about the two leaders being committed to peace. He also stressed that the US supports the early achievement of peace between the two states.

"The goal of my country is to bring an end to this suffering so that the people of Armenia and the people of Azerbaijan can live together peacefully; they can enjoy mutual peace, but also mutual prosperity. We need to bring it to an end," he said.

He also underlined that in this scenario, the US is not playing a role of a mediator in the peace process, but rather a facilitator.

“In order for a peace agreement to be sustainable, to be durable, it needs to come from the parties, not from the US, or anyone else. Our goal is to get parties talking so that they are putting forward the language, they are exchanging proposal," the US official added.

Bono recalled that a few weeks ago he accompanied Secretary Blinken to Munich, where he held a trilateral meeting with President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

"The secretary felt that the meeting was very constructive. I think this was a sentiment shared by all the participants in the meeting. Following the meeting, I had a conversation with the Secretary, and he asked me to come out as soon as possible to advance the peace process. That’s why I am here now," he said.