Azernews.Az

YEREVAN – A senior US official met Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian in Yerevan late on Thursday to discuss a slew of regional and international issues as well as the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, Armenian media said.

Tina Kaidanow, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, said the United States would continue cooperating with Armenia to restore peace in the turbulent region.

During her visit Kaidanow is also expected to hold meetings with President Serzh Sargsyan, as well as local politicians and civil society representatives, focusing on US-Armenian cooperation and the situation with democracy and human rights in Armenia, the US embassy in Yerevan said.

Analysts say that as an official of a country co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group brokering talks on the Karabakh conflict, Kaidanow places an emphasis on the issue during her discussions. Head of the Strategic and National Research Center of Armenia, Richard Kirakosyan, told Armenia’s Azatutyun (Liberty) radio station that Washington has recently stepped up its efforts in the peace process. Kirakosyan said that US Under Secretary for Political Affairs William Burns’ meeting with the Minsk Group co-chairs in Washington on Wednesday was also proof of the increased efforts.

The analyst believes that the U.S. is thus trying to prevent a resumption of war over Nagorno Karabakh, which he claimed could flare up in the summer.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a brutal war that ended with the signing of a fragile cease-fire in 1994. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory has been occupied by Armenian armed forces since then. Peace talks brokered by US, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.