Washington rules out military solution to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
By Sara Rajabova
The U.S., a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group brokering settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, rules out the military solution of the problem.
"The tragic loss of life in the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia reminds us that there cannot be a military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," US State Department acting deputy spokesman Patrick Ventrell said during a briefing in Washington.
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. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.
Ventrell went on to say that only a lasting and peaceful settlement can bring stability, prosperity, and reconciliation to the region.
"The United States is a co-chair of the Minsk Group, and remains firmly committed to working with both sides to achieve peace," Ventrell said.
U.S. activity has increased regarding the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
After taking office U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the status quo was unacceptable in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the U.S. will continue to be committed to find a peaceful and sustainable settlement of the long-standing dispute through the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group.
Peace talks brokered by OSCE 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 in 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.