State Department: Rights and security of national minorities among  issues discussed between Baku, Yerevan in Washington 

ArmInfo.Among the many issues discussed between Baku and Yerevan are the rights and security of  national minorities. ®Voice of America¯ reports, with reference to  high-ranking officials of the US State Department.  The source states  that negotiations between the heads of the foreign ministries of  Armenia and Azerbaijan on the document "Agreement on the  normalization of relations" with the mediation of the United States  have started in Washington.

Details of the meeting were provided by senior US State Department  officials, who stressed that the foreign ministers of Armenia and  Azerbaijan would hold a series of meetings this week.

At the same time, the officials added that the United States is  committed to promoting a peaceful, democratic and prosperous future  for the South Caucasus, and expressed their belief that direct  dialogue is the only way to resolve issues and establish a lasting  peace, which Washington promotes.

The American side expressed disappointment with Moscow's negative  reaction to the talks. The most important thing is for the parties to  be able to communicate with each other, wherever it happens, in  Washington, Brussels or Moscow, noted the high-ranking diplomats,  emphasizing that Washington's goal is to provide a platform to  achieve a lasting, balanced and dignified peace.  The State  Department also emphasized that the Munich meeting made it clear that  the parties were committed to the peace process (after that,  Azerbaijan, apparently committed to peace, attacked the village of  Tegh in the Syunik region of the Republic of Armenia, as a result of  which 4 Armenian were killed - ed.  note).

"The document under consideration is called the 'Agreement on the  Normalization of Relations', and the United States is seeking the  parties to normalize their relations so that they can live together,  strengthen economic ties and even their collective security in the  region. According to the State Department, the document under  discussion is very comprehensive, within which many issues are  discussed, including the rights and security of national minorities.

With regard to the Lachin corridor, the American side confirmed that  Washington has been very clear in the past few months about the  importance of ensuring free commercial and humanitarian traffic  through the corridor and continues to participate in these  discussions, expecting that traffic through the corridor will soon be  restored.

Washington also hopes that the parties will hold direct and frank  talks this week to reach a settlement, and underscores its commitment  to supporting this process.