Garabagh accord possible by year-end: US official
US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried has said it was
possible to reach "real agreement" between Azerbaijan and Armenia
to settle the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict by the end of
2008.
"But a possibility, certainly, does not mean this will definitely happen, as very complex decisions from both sides are needed," Fried said.
He told Radio Liberty`s Armenian service after paying a visit to Yerevan last week that "if reaching a solution were easy, the problem would have long been resolved by now."
Fried recalled that US President George Bush hosted Presidents Heydar Aliyev and Robert Kocharian in the early weeks of 2001 in an effort to find a solution to the Garabagh problem. In February, US Secretary of State Colin Powell furthered these efforts in Key West, Florida. The incumbent US administration has been striving to reach a solution to the Garabagh problem from the very outset of its tenure, but as yet to no avail.
"However, we have not set this job aside. We continue working together with the French and Russian co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group [brokering peace talks] to reach a solution. We believe solving the problem is possible," Fried said.
In reply to questions regarding calls to war, he said the threat of attempts to settle the conflict by force remains in place.
"In my opinion, the threat is always there, as the war in Georgia has shown to everyone how dangerous the situation is," the State Department official added.
"But a possibility, certainly, does not mean this will definitely happen, as very complex decisions from both sides are needed," Fried said.
He told Radio Liberty`s Armenian service after paying a visit to Yerevan last week that "if reaching a solution were easy, the problem would have long been resolved by now."
Fried recalled that US President George Bush hosted Presidents Heydar Aliyev and Robert Kocharian in the early weeks of 2001 in an effort to find a solution to the Garabagh problem. In February, US Secretary of State Colin Powell furthered these efforts in Key West, Florida. The incumbent US administration has been striving to reach a solution to the Garabagh problem from the very outset of its tenure, but as yet to no avail.
"However, we have not set this job aside. We continue working together with the French and Russian co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group [brokering peace talks] to reach a solution. We believe solving the problem is possible," Fried said.
In reply to questions regarding calls to war, he said the threat of attempts to settle the conflict by force remains in place.
"In my opinion, the threat is always there, as the war in Georgia has shown to everyone how dangerous the situation is," the State Department official added.
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