U.S. says ‘working hard’ on Garabagh settlement
The United States is "working hard" to achieve a settlement to the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, US State
Department spokesman Mark Toner has said.
Toner was replying to a question at a news briefing, which indicated that "there seems to be an impression in Azerbaijan that the U.S. hasn’t really done as much as it could in that area". When asked whether the State Department would be "taking any new actions", putting the Garabagh problem "on the front burner" after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the region and the issue came up during the talks, Toner said he disagrees Washington has been inactive.
"I think we’ve continued to meet through the Minsk process and – or the Minsk Group [the OSCE Minsk Group brokering the peace process], rather, continually to work on these issues. Obviously, they’re difficult issues and that requires a great deal of time. But our Ambassador Robert Bradtke [US Minsk Group co-chairman] is hard at work on these issues and that’s just reinforced by the Secretary’s visit to the region."
Asked to comment on whether Secretary Clinton discussed the Armenian-Turkish relations in Azerbaijan, given that "Baku authorities have some reservations regarding the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement", Toner said Washington’s stance on Ankara-Yerevan reconciliation process remains unchanged.
"Well, I think we’ve always – I mean, certainly our policy hasn’t shifted. We support rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia. We also obviously support a settlement in Nagorno Garabagh. The two obviously aren’t mutually exclusive, but are mutually supportive."*
Toner was replying to a question at a news briefing, which indicated that "there seems to be an impression in Azerbaijan that the U.S. hasn’t really done as much as it could in that area". When asked whether the State Department would be "taking any new actions", putting the Garabagh problem "on the front burner" after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the region and the issue came up during the talks, Toner said he disagrees Washington has been inactive.
"I think we’ve continued to meet through the Minsk process and – or the Minsk Group [the OSCE Minsk Group brokering the peace process], rather, continually to work on these issues. Obviously, they’re difficult issues and that requires a great deal of time. But our Ambassador Robert Bradtke [US Minsk Group co-chairman] is hard at work on these issues and that’s just reinforced by the Secretary’s visit to the region."
Asked to comment on whether Secretary Clinton discussed the Armenian-Turkish relations in Azerbaijan, given that "Baku authorities have some reservations regarding the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement", Toner said Washington’s stance on Ankara-Yerevan reconciliation process remains unchanged.
"Well, I think we’ve always – I mean, certainly our policy hasn’t shifted. We support rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia. We also obviously support a settlement in Nagorno Garabagh. The two obviously aren’t mutually exclusive, but are mutually supportive."*
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