Azernews.Az

The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh remains the biggest obstacle to the development and long-term stability of the region, the US deputy ambassador in Baku said Friday.

"There are no easy answers to the issue, it is a complicated problem," Adam Sterling told an international conference in Baku on the role of U.S.-Azerbaijan cooperation in ensuring regional peace and security.

Sterling said as an OSCE Minsk Group co-chair, the U.S. continues working to establish the conditions and confidence necessary for Azerbaijan and Armenia to make tangible progress in achieving a just and peaceful solution of the long-standing conflict.

"The US position on the conflict remains unchanged," Sterling added. "The U.S. is committed to a negotiated settlement of the conflict as the only viable solution for the region's well-being."

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.

Peace talks, brokered by the United States, Russia and France through the OSCE Minsk Group, have been largely fruitless so far.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on a pullout from Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven surrounding regions.