Azerbaijan, Baku, February 2 / Trend , U.Sadikhova/
There is no special reason to delay the appointment of U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, and the embassy hopes to soon see the ambassador in Baku, U.S. aharge d'affaires to Azerbaijan Donald Lu told reporters in Baku on Feb. 2.
"Earlier this month I was in Washington and talked about appointment with many people, and we would like to see the ambassador as soon as possible. In the U.S., this process takes a long time, and only the president can decide upon this," said Lu.
Concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Lu said that the OSCE Minsk Group, including the American co-chairman Robert Bradke, are now most active.
"Now it is the period of activity between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as co-chairmen of OSCE Minsk Group, and I expect that this will continue," said Lu.
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 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.