U.S. ambassador: No resolution to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict frustrating and painful

The U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar has today commented on an Armenian reconnaissance-sabotage group's attempt to attack one of Azerbaijani army posts in the Fuzuli District during the night of May 21-22.

"I know this is extremely frustrating, that 20 years have gone by since the ceasefire and still there is no resolution to the conflict," Ambassador Morningstar said.

He stressed that any casualty on the line of contact is a tragedy.

"Whenever I hear these terrible stories, it reinforces in my mind how important it is once and for all to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Ambassador Morningstar said.

"I know this is painful to all Azerbaijanis," the diplomat said. "We have to continue to make every effort to seek resolution."

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.


/Trend/