Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The U.S., a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group brokering settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, has said it remains deeply committed to working with the sides to achieve a peaceful solution.

"We believe that the use of force will not resolve the conflict, and we call upon all parties to refrain from the use or threat of use of force," US State Department acting deputy spokesman Patrick Ventrell told journalists Monday while commenting on US Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Turkey.

During his visit to Turkey, Secretary Kerry and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu discussed the strengthening of the OSCE Minsk Group's activity and the liberation of the Armenia-occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

"The Minsk process should be provided with an ever-increasing momentum and the invaded territory of Azerbaijan is an issue that we need certain advancement within," Davutoglu said after the meeting. He added that Turkey and the U.S. will continue to touch on those issues in the future.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against the neighboring country. Since a lengthy war between the two South Caucasus countries that displaced over a million Azerbaijanis and ended with the signing of a precarious cease-fire in 1994, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. Peace talks brokered by Minsk Group co-chairs representing the United States, Russia and France have been largely fruitless so far.

The negotiations are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles, also known as Basic Principles. The document envisions a return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; determining the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh; a corridor linking Armenia to the region; and the right of all internally displaced persons to return home.