U.S., Washington, June 17 / Trend , N.Bogdanova/
Rapprochement of Turkey and Armenia should be the catalyst in the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, Head of the U.S. Congress Subcommittee on Europe of the Committee for Foreign Policy Democrat Robert Wexler (Florida) told Trend .
"The United States attaches great importance to both processes, but all parties, particularly Azerbaijan and Armenia must demonstrate their courage in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem," the congressman said.
If the region is stable, then "the role of the South Caucasus will grow in the international security issue", Co-chair of the Parliamentary Turkish-American Friendship Group Wexler 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 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.