The United States hopes to achieve a positive result in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the format of the OSCE Minsk Group, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Tina Kaidanow said today in a meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.
"Sargsyan and his high-ranking guest noted the importance of continuing the OSCE Minsk Group's efforts and expressed the hope that the negotiations in this format will provide the necessary result," Novosti-Armenia reported.
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 seven surrounding regions. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.
The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the United States - are currently holding negotiations to resolve the dispute.
Armenia has failed to implement U.N. Security Council resolutions stipulating the liberation of Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding regions.