Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 24
Trend:
The US would like to see more progress in the negotiation process over Nagorno-Karabakh, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Bridget Brink told reporters in Baku.
"We welcome the fact that the Minsk Group is working with the leaders in anticipation of meeting at the leadership level by the end of the year," she said.
"The Minsk Group is very active, and we have our own special envoy James Warlick who is exclusively devoted to supporting efforts towards resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh as our representative in the Minsk Group," Brink said.
The Minsk Group co-chairs can and do mediate, but it is going to be up to the leaders of the region to find the resolution to the conflict, she said, adding that the Minsk Group resolution of the conflict is in everybody's interest, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, the region and the United States as well.
Brink also said that the United States appreciates its long standing friendship with Azerbaijan.
The US is also committed to continuing and deepening cooperation across the whole range of relationships in spheres of security, economy, democracy and human rights, she said.
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 the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.