Azernews.Az

BAKU – A NATO official has said the alliance has a clear-cut position on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh and believes that the long-standing dispute cannot be resolved militarily.

James Appathurai, the NATO secretary general's special envoy for the Caucasus and Central Asia, told Armenia’s Arminfo news agency that the use of force would merely reduce the military power of all sides involved and cause political and economic crises.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a precarious cease-fire in 1994. Armenian armed forces have since occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno Karabakh. Years of OSCE-brokered peace talks have brought few tangible results.

Appathurai said there would be no winners if military action erupted anew.

"We believe that both sides would be defeated in this war. But first and foremost, rank-and-file citizens of the two countries would lose. Moreover, this case scenario would set back all the progress achieved in the past few years."

According to Appathurai, diplomacy is the only road to a balanced and mutually beneficial solution of the Karabakh problem.