Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17
By Sabina Ahmadova - Trend:
The U.S. hopes that Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents, Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan will meet soon, the U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Richard Morningstar told reporters on June 17.
"We hope that it will happen. We hope that it will happen soon. But there are no dates yet at this point," the ambassador said.
"As I have said many times, the U.S. thinks it is very important that the two presidents continue to meet and talk together about concrete steps that will finally reach, could finally reach the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Morningstar stressed.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries 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.
Touching upon the hearing on Azerbaijan at the Helsinki Commission, the ambassador said there was much discussion about democracy and human rights.
"There was also a lot of testimony and a lot of discussion about other areas of common interest that we have, and we will continue toward, with Azerbaijan," the ambassador added.
He also said that Azerbaijan continues to be a strong partner to work on all of the issues that are of interest, including the democracy and human rights.
On June 11, the Russell Senate Office Building hosted hearings on the safety, economy and human rights aspects of the U.S.-Azerbaijani relations.
The hearings were organized by the U.S. Helsinki Commission (Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe).
The purpose of the hearings was to discuss the main elements in relations between the U.S. and Azerbaijan.
Edited by CN