The time has come to reach an agreement on a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Axar.az reports that US Deputy Secretary of State James O'Brien said these words in an interview with the Armenian service of "Azadlig" radio.

He said that Yerevan and Baku should stop the practice of making new demands.

"It is time to reach an agreement on a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Why is now the time? Now is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a trade route from Central Asia to the Mediterranean. This can happen when there is peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. And this will open not only the main trade, but also new production along the way.

It can happen now. Maybe in a few years it won't be so important - just as it wasn't possible a few years ago. Now is a great time because countries on this path want to reduce Russia's influence. Armenia's democratic commitment and the reforms supported by the Armenian people since 2018 mean that Armenia is in a position to make this decision.

Both sides are committed to peace, and the United States expects they will be able to reach an agreement in the coming weeks or months. We see hard bargaining on both sides, as well as some interesting tactical maneuvering to reach an agreement. This final delimitation agreement was a definite compromise. Armenia knew it had to give them up (villages) and Azerbaijan agreed to a demarcation line they knew Armenia would accept. We are talking about the Almaty Declaration. So each side reached a compromise. I think that at some point the style of making new demands and then negotiating more has to stop. I think we already know the rough outline of a successful deal.

Now the problem is that the parties understand that it is the right time to reach an agreement."

It should be noted that J. O'Brien visited Yerevan on June 10 for a 3-day visit.