Warlick: Status quo in Karabakh conflict makes war threat possible

By  Trend

The status quo in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is unstable and makes a war threat possible, said former US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, James Warlick, in his interview with the Voice of America, news.am reported.

Peace will change everything in the region, noted Warlick adding that the region’s population deserves peace.

Warlick said that it is necessary to discuss the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, but at the same time it is necessary to talk about the return of territories to Azerbaijan.

Warlick served as the OSCE Minsk Group US co-chair until January 2017.

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 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.