Azerbaijan, Baku, Mar. 1 /Trend/
U.S. House of Representatives member Ed Pastor issued a statement in connection with Khojaly tragedy, Embassy of Azerbaijan to the U.S. told Trend.
"I rise today to remember the 21st Anniversary of the Khojaly Tragedy, which occurred in this small town in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan on February 25-26, 1992. In the early 1990s, Azerbaijan was involved in a brutal conflict with its neighbor to the West, Armenia , and the repercussions from atrocities committed during that time still impact diplomatic and economic relations today. The Khojaly Tragedy is perhaps the worst single incident that occurred during this time, resulting in hundreds of lives lost, families devastated, and the town destroyed", statement reads.
According to senator, since a cease-fire was negotiated in 1994, these two nations have been locked in a dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, located within Azerbaijan but occupied by Armenianforces. The Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, of which the United States is a co-chair, was created to encourage a peaceful, negotiated resolution to this conflict, yet work remains in reaching this goal.
"In December 2012, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Mammadyarov addressed this situation as follows: ``As a result, our relations with Armenia are practically nonexistent. There is also a distinct lack of economic cooperation and trade between our two countries. Azerbaijan wants peace so that we can continue to grow our economy, develop our energy resources and advance our relations with Europe and our neighbors. But Armenia also has a stake in peace with Azerbaijan. The country is isolated in the region largely because of this conflict. It is excluded from all regional infrastructure and energy projects, such as the oil and gas pipelines passing from the Caspian Sea to Turkey and Europe via Georgia, as well as a new railroad line between Azerbaijan and Turkey through Georgia, to be inaugurated this year. When we can agree on lasting peace, Armenia could become a stakeholder in these regional projects", - statement reads
According to Pastor, a peaceful resolution of this conflict would benefit not only Azerbaijan and Armenia , but would ensure security and economic growth for the South Caucasus region.