“The conflict in the South Caucasus must end,” wrote Michael O’Hanlon, the U.S. National Security Advisor, on his social media account, stating that he made this comment during a conversation with Hikmet Hajiyev, the Azerbaijani President’s Assistant for Foreign Policy Affairs.

He added, “I told him that we must finalize the peace agreement, release the prisoners, and work together to make the region safer and improve prosperity.”

The U.S. National Security Advisor also expressed his satisfaction with his government’s support for the significant steps taken by Azerbaijan and Armenia toward a peace agreement.

The official government of Baku has not yet issued an official statement regarding the O’Hanlon-Hajiyev talks.

O’Hanlon did not specify which prisoners he was referring to—whether he meant the journalists and human rights or opposition activists detained in Azerbaijan, or the separatist Armenian prisoners.

In Azerbaijan, more than 20 journalists are imprisoned, and it is reported that over 300 people considered political prisoners by international organizations are also in jail. At the same time, since the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, 8 Armenian separatist leaders are imprisoned in Baku. The Armenian diaspora in the U.S. has been running campaigns for their release.

Meanwhile, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has informed his French and Iranian counterparts and partners about the peace agreement with Baku, according to official information released from Yerevan.

The Armenian Prime Minister held phone conversations with French President Emmanuel Macron and Iranian President Masoud Pezeškian. Pashinyan informed them about the currently agreed text of the “Agreement on Peace and the Establishment of Interstate Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” as well as the completion of negotiations on the draft text.

Madina Mammadova\\EDnews