Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The former U.S. ambassador has said Washington should pay more attention to Azerbaijan.

Matthew Bryza, the former deputy assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, the director of the International Centre for Defense and Security in Estonia told Trend on January 28 that the U.S. should be more attentive towards Azerbaijan, as this country is its strategic partner.

“The U.S. should play a more effective role in the South Caucasus, especially in terms of support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan on the basis of the negotiating process and international principles,” Bryza said.

Bryza also was one of the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group that was tasked to mediate over the settlement of the long-lasting Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,emerged after Armenia laid territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that had caused a lengthy war in the early 1990s.

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. However, the negotiations have been largely fruitless so far despite the efforts of the co-chair countries over 20 years.

Armenia continues the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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