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Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry harshly reacted to the “recognition” of the “independence” of Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region by the US State of Georgia.

“Recognition of any entity is under the powers of the U.S. Federal Government in line with the U.S. law,” Ministry’s spokesperson Hikmet Hajiyev told Trend on March 4, while commenting on the news.

Hajiyev added that the U.S. recognizes Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty within the internationally recognized borders.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The U.S. embassy in Baku, commenting on the news, once again announced that the United States does not recognize the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

“The U.S. Foreign Policy is determined by the Federal Government. The resolution passed by the Georgia State House regarding Nagorno-Karabakh is an expression of opinion by a state legislative body and does not change the U.S. foreign policy on the matter,” the embassy told Trend.

Yerevan and Baku signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. For over 20 years, Armenia has been exacerbating the conflict in the region and destabilizing the situation.

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