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US calls for peaceful solution to Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict

Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict Materials 5 July 2010 00:16 (UTC +04:00)
The US on Sunday called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to find a peaceful solution to their territorial conflict, dpa reported.
US calls for peaceful solution to Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict

The US on Sunday called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to find a peaceful solution to their territorial conflict, dpa reported.

A return to violence was not acceptable, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said during an official visit to the Armenian capital of Yerevan.

The Armenian armed forces opened fire on Azerbaijani soldiers June 18. Four Armenian military men were killed and four were wounded in the crossfire. Azerbaijani soldier Ibrahimov Mubariz was killed. His body remained in neutral territory.

The US was ready to help the two countries solve the conflict, Clinton said.

The Armenian foreign minister, Edvard Nalbandian also promised further negotiations.

Clinton had met with Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev, earlier in the day.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.

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