US continues to support UN process for Karabakh

By Esra Kaymak Avci

WASHINGTON

The U.S. said Thursday it continues to support the U.N. process to find a solution for the occupied Karabakh conflict.

"We still believe that that's the way forward, that is the best way forward," State Department spokesman John Kirby said during a press briefing.

He added that the three co-chairs of the Minsk Group had visited the region recently to make it clear that Armenia and Azerbaijan "immediately" return to negotiations and settlement.

"We remain firmly committed, again, through the U.N. to working with the sides to reach a lasting peace," Kirby stressed.

Co-chairs of the Minsk Group are Russian ambassador Igor Popov, French ambassador Pierre Andrieu and U.S. ambassador James Warlick.

Kirby's comments came as a response to a question when he was asked whether Russia's unilateral diplomacy overshadowed the work of the multinational Minsk group.

The Obama administration has been facing several criticisms for not taking action to stop the conflict, earlier this month, between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

On the other hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin is considered to have played a prominent role in efforts to get the cease-fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan concerning occupied Karabakh.

Azerbaijani troops and more than 100 Armenian soldiers were killed in fighting over Karabakh, which was seized by ethnic Armenian separatists in the early 1990s.


Armenian militia has occupied the Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region since 1993, similar to pro-Russian militia that have illegally occupied parts of Ukraine since 2014.

Three UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions refer to Karabakh as being part of Azerbaijan.

The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe also refers to the territory as under occupation of Armenian forces.