Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The U.S. Department of State has condemned the killing of the Azerbaijani soldier on February 26.

"The tragic loss of life in the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan reminds us that there cannot be a military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Jen Psaki said on February 28.

Violating the ceasefire at 15:30, the Armenian armed units fired on the positions of Azerbaijani Armed Forces and killed the serviceman of the Azerbaijani Army, the Defense Ministry said. Junior sergeant Nohbalayev Karam died as a result the attack when he was on a combat mission.

At a daily press briefing, Psaki also touched the issue of the massacre in Khojaly town of Azerbaijan committed by Armenian troops in 1992.

"Only a lasting and peaceful settlement can bring stability and prosperity and reconciliation to the region," Psaki said.

She reiterated that as a co-chair of the Minsk Group, the United States remains firmly committed to working with both sides, to achieve peace.

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's four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal have not been enforced to this day.

Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group, are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. The negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.