The U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, expressed her doubt that the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh would be solved soon, saying there are problems on both sides, ITAR-TASS reported.
"I am not sure that the conflict can be settled soon. The parties have been close several times to solving the conflict, but there have been problems on both sides. I must emphasize that this is the case at the moment and we are trying to make sure that both sides act responsibly," Rice said
Rice said a state of emergency in Armenia, imposed recently after rioting against the results of a presidential election, had made it necessary to suspend some U.S. programs. "We are very concerned about the heating-up rhetoric," Rice told the lawmakers. "But I think the way to do it, the way to deal with this, is to try and maintain open channels between both sides and to try to get them to reach a solution."