Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan and Armenia are close to a breakthrough in settling the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, former US ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza said in an interview with Turkish Hurriyet Daily newspaper.

"There is a huge progress [in negotiations], and the sides are extremely close to a breakthrough," Bryza said.

He stressed that there are a couple of core details that can only be agreed upon if the sides make a very difficult and risky political decision.

Bryza also noted that such a decision won't be made until the sides sense they receive political support from the U.S. and France.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced up to a million Azerbaijanis. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno Karabakh and seven surrounding regions, has been under the occupation of Armenian armed forces since a fragile ceasefire was signed in 1994. Efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

This story is published by AzerNEWS Weekly under a project funded by the Foundation for State Assistance to the Development of the Media under the President of the Azerbaijan Republic.