Washington warns against fresh war
US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried has said his country
hoped Azerbaijan will not launch new military action to settle its
long-standing conflict with Armenia over Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh.
"Resumption of hostilities in the conflict zone is currently possible in practice, but this would not facilitate the conflict settlement," Fried told a congressional hearing dedicated to conflicts flaring in the South Caucasus region last week.
Fried said Washington has already expressed its concern over statements by some Azerbaijani officials on a possible resumption of military operations to free the country's occupied territories.
"We frankly told them that Azerbaijan's wealth comes from its oil and gas. War would jeopardize this wealth. Besides, Azerbaijan's military might is not much more powerful than that of Armenia. This is America's point of view. A war would prove costly for both countries and neither side would be the winner," the State Department official said.
He stressed that the U.S. supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, but at the same time, it backs determination of Upper Garabagh's status in accord with international law and through peace talks.
Fried said progress was observed in the peace process at the latest meeting of Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sarkisian held outside St. Petersburg on June 6. However, much work remains to be done and a more down-to-earth approach is necessary. "We have always called on the governments to hold peace talks and will keep doing so."
In an interview with Voice of America, Fried said the conduct of the hearing indicated that Congress was closely following the South Caucasus region and how much importance the US legislature was attaching to issues such as the sovereignty of regional states.
"This shows that despite the upcoming presidential elections in the U.S., the executive and legislative branches of power clearly understand the country's strategic interests in the Caucasus region and will continue working in concert to achieve peace and progress here, which is one of our primary objectives."
"Resumption of hostilities in the conflict zone is currently possible in practice, but this would not facilitate the conflict settlement," Fried told a congressional hearing dedicated to conflicts flaring in the South Caucasus region last week.
Fried said Washington has already expressed its concern over statements by some Azerbaijani officials on a possible resumption of military operations to free the country's occupied territories.
"We frankly told them that Azerbaijan's wealth comes from its oil and gas. War would jeopardize this wealth. Besides, Azerbaijan's military might is not much more powerful than that of Armenia. This is America's point of view. A war would prove costly for both countries and neither side would be the winner," the State Department official said.
He stressed that the U.S. supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, but at the same time, it backs determination of Upper Garabagh's status in accord with international law and through peace talks.
Fried said progress was observed in the peace process at the latest meeting of Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sarkisian held outside St. Petersburg on June 6. However, much work remains to be done and a more down-to-earth approach is necessary. "We have always called on the governments to hold peace talks and will keep doing so."
In an interview with Voice of America, Fried said the conduct of the hearing indicated that Congress was closely following the South Caucasus region and how much importance the US legislature was attaching to issues such as the sovereignty of regional states.
"This shows that despite the upcoming presidential elections in the U.S., the executive and legislative branches of power clearly understand the country's strategic interests in the Caucasus region and will continue working in concert to achieve peace and progress here, which is one of our primary objectives."
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