Azerbaijani President Aliyev Criticizes U.S. Support for Armenia

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed his dissatisfaction with recent American actions in support of Armenia during a call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, stating that they had damaged Azerbaijan-U.S. relations. The United States had provided diplomatic backing for Armenia during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, which resulted in Azerbaijan recapturing the region. Despite the strained relations, Aliyev and Blinken agreed to work towards normalizing ties, including a visit by Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien to Baku and the lifting of a ban on senior Azerbaijani officials visiting the U.S.