On September 21, an anonymous Georgian-language Facebook account published a Facebook status, according to which US Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Armenia on the cession of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The claim that the US Secretary of State congratulated Armenia on the cession of Karabakh is false. A statement by Blinken of similar content cannot be found in open sources. Blinken has made several official statements since the start of military operations by Azerbaijan on September 19, 2023, none of them congratulating Armenia on the cession of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan launched a military operation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on September 19, 2023. On the same day, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued an official statement regarding the fact and called on Azerbaijan to stop military operations.
Blinken: “The United States is deeply concerned by Azerbaijan’s military actions in Nagorno-Karabakh and calls on Azerbaijan to cease these actions immediately. These actions are worsening an already dire humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and undermine prospects for peace. As we have previously made clear to Azerbaijan, the use of force to resolve disputes is unacceptable and runs counter to efforts to create conditions for a just and dignified peace in the region. We call for an immediate end to hostilities and for respectful dialogue between Baku and representatives of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh.”
A short statement with the same content was also published on X (Twitter). On September 19, two more official statements were published both on the website of the State Department (1,2) and on the official page of Anthony Blinken on X (1,2). The statements were related to Blinken’s telephone conversations with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan. In a conversation with Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev, the US Secretary of State again emphasized the need to stop military operations. Speaking with Pashinyan, Blinken confirmed the US’s support for Armenia’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
On September 20, the second day after the start of military operations by Azerbaijan, the separatist forces in Nagorno-Karabakh surrendered and agreed to establish Baku’s control over the region. Antony Blinken did not make a statement about this fact. On September 21, a congratulation on the Independence Day of Armenia was published on the website of the State Department. The congratulatory text once again mentions the US’s support for Armenia’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. Nagorno-Karabakh is not mentioned in the statement. In the following days, the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh was one of the issues discussed with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at the UN General Assembly. On September 23, another telephone conversation took place between Blinken and Pashinyan. According to a statement published on the website of the State Department, the US calls on Azerbaijan to protect civilians and fulfill its obligations under international law.
US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller: “Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today about Azerbaijan’s military actions in Nagorno-Karabakh and reaffirmed U.S. support for Armenia’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. The Secretary expressed the United States’ deep concern for the ethnic Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh. He underscored the United States is calling on Azerbaijan to protect civilians and uphold its obligations to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh and to ensure its forces comply with international humanitarian law.”
Not a single official statement by Antony Blinken or the US State Department contains congratulations to Armenia on the cession of Nagorno-Karabakh.
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