{"id":297298,"date":"2026-09-11T12:59:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T08:59:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abcmedia.am\/?p=297298"},"modified":"2026-09-11T16:15:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T12:15:37","slug":"us-congressman-there-are-still-certain-challenges-in-armenian-azerbaijani-relations-including-the-issue-of-armenian-captives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abcmedia.am\/en\/news\/297298\/","title":{"rendered":"US Congressman: There are still certain challenges in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, including the issue of Armenian captives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hamadeh, a Republican from Arizona and a member of the House Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs committees, visited Azerbaijan in June and Armenia in August and met with the countries’ leaders.<\/p>\n

According to him, it looks like US government officials at all levels are committed to this.<\/p>\n

The congressman believes that one of the obstacles is just time. It takes time for emotions to settle down after being in a period of war and for decades of war. And so, both in Baku and Yerevan, it’s going very smoothly, and both sides are absolutely committed to ensuring the South Caucasus is peaceful and prosperous.<\/p>\n

‘’ Yes, there’s still some challenges, of course. There are some prisoners the Armenians would like back from Azerbaijan. Each side has their own opinions on all of these issues’’, Hamada noted, adding that one of the things is going to help is not just Azerbaijan and Armenia’s relationship, but Turkey and Armenia’s relationship, which I think has been a little bit understated lately<\/p>\n

Turning to TRIPP, he emphasized that TRIPP is much more than just economics. ‘’Of course, it’s going to benefit the economies of both countries, but it’s going to solidify them and tie them so much diplomatically, politically, economically’’, said Hamadeh and added that once it’s fully operational, the amount of opportunity for the South Caucasus is immense.<\/p>\n

He thinks that the Russians are becoming less influential in the South Caucasus, which is a big benefit for the US.<\/p>\n

The Iranians are totally decimated; they’re distracted right now. So the Caucasus of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey’s help — they have a lot of potential to be that bridge between Asia, especially Central Asia, which is also very understated, connecting them to the Caucasus, through the Caspian Sea, through this TRIPP corridor to beyond, to Turkey, into Europe.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"