Azerbaijan, Baku, June 23 / Trend T. Hajiyev /
Azerbaijan is a very important country in the region for the United States, Director of the Division of the South Caucasus for the U.S National Security Council Bridget Brink said at the meeting with chairman of Democratic Reforms Party Asim Mollazade in Washington.
Azerbaijan-U.S relations, the situation in the South Caucasus region, local conflicts, including Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Azerbaijan's role in ensuring energy security in the Caspian Sea were discussed, the party said.
Mollazade stressed the need for more intensive development of relations between the two countries, as well as U.S. greater involvement in conflict settlement processes that impede peace and development in the region.
Mollazade discussed Karabakh conflict and regional security issues in the White House. Armenia impedes the process of establishing peace, thus excluding itself from the general development of the region and the important energy projects, " chairman of the party 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.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.