Azernews.Az

By Gulgiz Dadashova

The statement from the White House is basically a statement from the US President, US Ambassador to Baku Richard Morningstar has said when commenting on the official response to the petitions posted on the White House website.

Earlier, two petitions -- on recognition of the Khojaly genocide and occupation of the Azerbaijani territories by Armenia -- were posted at a special section of the website of the White House. Both of them received the required 100,000 signatures for consideration by US President Barack Obama. However the official response came from the White House.

The ambassador added that the White House statement speaks for itself that any killing of innocent civilians is unacceptable and is a tragedy.

"As a US ambassador to Azerbaijan, I recognize what a devastating issue Khojaly is for all Azerbaijanis and the killing of innocent civilians is a terrible tragedy. It is event clear to me that we have to make every effort to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict because that conflict is so painful for all Azerbaijanis," Morningstar said.

The White House statement reads that the U.S. is committed to a lasting and peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"While we will not be issuing a Presidential Proclamation, the United States deeply regrets the tragic losses of life in the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. It reminds us that there cannot be a military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and that only a lasting and peaceful settlement can bring stability, prosperity, and reconciliation to the region. As a co-chair of the Minsk Group, the United States remains firmly committed to working with all sides to achieve peace," the document said.

Earlier, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev said that the statement of the White House on the Khojaly genocide indicates lack of a specific position of the U.S. on the issue.

"This statement indicates that the U.S. does not have a concrete position on the Khojaly genocide and it remains indifferent to the crimes committed against humanity," Abdullayev said, emphasizing that in all its statements the U.S. asserts that Azerbaijan is its strategic partner.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but Armenia has not followed them to this day.

The town of Khojaly was situated within the administrative borders of the Nagorno Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Its population constituted over 7,000 people.

Late into the night of February 25, 1992, Khojaly came under intensive fire from the towns of Khankendi and Askeran already occupied by Armenian armed forces. The Armenian forces, supported by the ex-Soviet 366th regiment, completed the surrounding of the town already isolated due to ethnic cleansing of the Azerbaijani population of the neighboring regions. The joint forces occupied the town, which was ruined by heavy artillery shelling.

Thousands of fleeing civilians were ambushed by the Armenian forces. Punitive teams of the so-called Nagorno Karabakh defense army reached the unprotected civilians to slaughter them, mutilating and scalping some bodies. 613 people were killed, including 106 women, 70 elderly and 83 children. A total of 1,000 civilians were disabled. Eight families were exterminated, and 25 children lost both parents, while 130 children lost one parent. Moreover, 1,275 innocent people were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 remains unknown.