Azernews.Az

The United States hopes for a speedy settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, a senior US official told a conference on the South Caucasus region in Washington, the Baku-based APA news agency reported.

"We are doing everything we can to support the [mediating] OSCE Minsk Group, and hope for progress in Nagorno Karabakh peace talks after many years [of the conflict staying unresolved]," US Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Eric Rubin told the two-day conference, "Twenty Years of Independence in the South Caucasus: Achievements and Challenges", held at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The Karabakh conflict emerged during the last few years of the Soviet Union. 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory, including the Nagorno Karabakh region, has been under Armenian occupation since the two South Caucasus republics signed a precarious cease-fire in 1994 following a brutal war. Efforts by the Minsk Group have been largely fruitless so far.

Rubin noted that work is still underway to agree the basic principles of Karabakh settlement.

"We believe that both sides are making an effort in this regard and hope that progress will be achieved next year," Rubin said.

Peace talks are underway on the basis of the Madrid principles, a peace outline proposed by the mediators. The Madrid Document covers a return of the Armenia-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno Karabakh to Azerbaijani control, a future determination of the region’s legal status and the right of internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their homes.

Rubin stressed that the lack of progress in peace talks in the past two decades should be deemed as a failure.

"At the same time, I think it is important to note international efforts, the activity of the Minsk Group, and the endeavors of the United States, Russia, France, as well as other countries. We have worked to assist Armenia and Azerbaijan to avoid open conflict."

On Turkey-Armenia normalization, Rubin said the U.S. still hopes the reconciliation process will be successfully completed and encourages both countries’ governments to move forward.

"But the [parliament] elections held in Turkey and the [presidential] elections scheduled in Armenia, as well as the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, are creating a number of problems for this process," the State Department official added.

Turkey and Armenia have been at odds for decades due to Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territory and Armenian claims on 1915 "genocide" in the Ottoman Empire. Ankara and Yerevan signed reconciliation agreements in Zurich in October 2009, but the documents require parliamentary approval. Turkey has assured Azerbaijan, its ally, that the protocols will not be ratified until progress is made in resolving the Karabakh conflict. In response, Armenia suspended ratification of the protocols in April 2010.