Rubio warns of risk of renewed Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict, says U.S. seeks to prevent it

The risk of renewed armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia remains, and efforts are being made by Washington to prevent it, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in his speech to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“With regard to Azerbaijan, our main focus has been to work towards establishing peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Rubio said.

He added that Washington is also addressing issues related to prisoners and human rights in Azerbaijan.

Rubio acknowledged  “we have to deal with countries that in many cases do not have an ideal model.”

Despite this, he said the US engages with them based on national interests while striving to balance those interests with diplomacy.