Azernews.Az

The members of the House of Representatives of the US State of Georgia Pat Gardner and Demetrius Douglas, who were the authors of the resolution HR1580, which called for the recognition of the separatist regime created on Azerbaijan's occupied territories, addressed a letter to Azerbaijan's Ambassador in the US Elin Suleymanov as a response to the embassy's protest in this regard.

"In this letter, the legislators of the State of Georgia expressed gratitude to the Azerbaijani side for the provision of information on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and noted that after the issue's careful consideration, as well as learning about the strategic partnership between the US and Azerbaijan, they decided to withdraw their support for the draft resolution HR1580," said the embassy's message.

"The representatives had no intention to question the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and taking this opportunity once again acknowledged it," said the message.

"Over the past twenty four years, Azerbaijan has proven itself as a reliable and proven ally of the United States, supporting it in the fight against international terrorism, drug and human trafficking, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and etc.," said the representatives in their letter.

"Meanwhile, both legislators of the State of Georgia became the authors of the new project of the resolution HR1892 that expresses support for the strategic cooperation between the US and Azerbaijan, recognizes Azerbaijan's strategic importance, as well as expresses its support for Azerbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrity," said the embassy's message.

A large Armenian lobby in the US, in particular, such organizations as the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA) stand behind this kind of provocations, which are sharply against the US's official position on the conflict, according to the message.

It should be noted that by efforts of these organizations two more resolutions were presented at the same time at the House of Representatives and the Senate of the US State, but after an active and timely intrusion of the Azerbaijani side, including activists of the Azerbaijani diaspora, and in particular the head of the Azerbaijan Center in Houston city Irada Akhundova, both resolutions were withdrawn by their authors.

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 two countries 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.

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