Nagorno-Karabakh conflict painful for Azerbaijan: U.S. ambassador
By Sara Rajabova
Fatalities on the contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, after the signing of the ceasefire agreement, disappoint the United States.
U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, Richard Morningstar made the remarks commenting on the attempts by the Armenian sabotage and intelligence groups to attack one of the posts of the Azerbaijani Army in the direction of the Fizuli region at night from May 21 to 22.
Noting that any death is a tragedy, Morningstar said this case once again confirms that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved peacefully.
He further said the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which emerged in 1988 after Armenia's territorial claims against Azerbaijan, is a big pain for Azerbaijan.
"We should do everything possible to resolve the conflict. The settlement of the conflict peacefully is very important," Morningstar stressed.
For over two decades, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in the conflict, which impedes the development of the region, as Armenia continues its policy of aggression.
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.
Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994, but Armenia has continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for their immediate and unconditional withdrawal.
Peace talks mediated by Russia, France, and the U.S. have produced no results so far.