Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.19 / Trend, E.Mehdiyev /
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains the greatest obstacle to the development and long-term stability to this region, Deputy U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Adam Sterling said during his speech at the International Conference "Role of Azerbaijan-U.S. cooperation on ensuring peace and security in the region" in Baku on Friday.
"There are no easy answers to the problem, it is a difficult problem," he said.
Sterling said as an OSCE Minsk Group, the U.S. continues its work to establish the conditions and confidence necessary for Azerbaijan and Armenia to make real progress to a just and peaceful solution of the conflict.
"The U.S. position on the conflict remains unchanged. The U.S. is committed to a peacefully negotiated settlement of the conflict as the only viable solution for the region's well being," he said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven 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 peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.