'Azerbaijan expects U.S. to be more active in Karabakh conflict resolution'

Azerbaijan expects the United States to be more active in the resolution of Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Political Analysis and Information Provision Department head Elnur Aslanov told journalists on Friday.

"Lately there has been inactivity observed in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The U.S. is the co-chair of the Minsk Group and it should pay more active role in the conflict resolution along with other leading states," Aslanov said.

He said the U.S. should directly call the occupant as an occupant and achieve liberation of Azerbaijani territories from Armenian occupation.

During his speech at the Conference "Role of Azerbaijani-American cooperation in regional peace and stability" in Baku, Aslanov said that when Secretary Clinton visited Baku she stated that the bonds between the United States and Azerbaijan are deep, important and durable.

"The U.S. officials, who visited our country over the years, often say that United States has three main interests in Azerbaijan: cooperation on energy projects, security issues and political/economic reforms. Indeed these are important issues and our countries have achieved a lot in these areas. Without firm support from our American friends, regional energy projects would not have been possible. Without Azerbaijan's support, the U.S.-led fight against global terrorism and radicalism would not be the same. However, we need to see more active role of the United States in the resolution of the long-standing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan," he said.

Aslanov said Azerbaijan wants to see the United States pursue its national interests in our region without being hostage to ethnic politics.

"We insist that the United States call things by its own name, when it comes to aggression and occupation. Only commitment to its true values and principles, based on which the United States was founded, will bring the US a durable, firm and successful foothold in the Caucasus," he added.

According to Aslanov, Azerbaijan needs U.S. assistance in resolving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The U.S. has strong economic and strategic interests in Azerbaijan because of its energy resources and geography. A potential American partnership with Azerbaijan answers Washington's strategic needs to consolidate its presence in the Caucasus-Caspian Sea region, he said.

"While unique location makes Azerbaijan center of geopolitical, geo-strategic and geo-economic importance, one of the largest embassies U.S. has today, after US Embassy in Bagdad, is located in Yerevan. While U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) is the first and only grassroots advocacy and political education project uniting all Azerbaijani-American voters, Section 907 to the "Freedom Support Act" does not reflect current stage of relationship and creates obstacles to broader strategic relationship," Aslanov said.

He said unfortunately, unresolved conflicts represent a long-term challenge to our efforts to promote security and stability in the whole Euro-Atlantic area.

"Despite ongoing political efforts towards the earliest resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, activities in the occupied areas of Azerbaijan are in gross violation of international law and serve to further consolidate of the status-quo of occupation, secure the results of ethnic cleansing and artificially change demographics on the captured territories, as well as to seriously obstruct a peaceful resolution of the conflict," Aslanov mentioned.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent 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 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/