US diplomat rules out military solution to Karabakh conflict

By Azernews

By Akbar Mammadov

There has to be a diplomatic solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, US Ambassador to OSCE James Gilmore said during the special briefing of the US State Department on March 2, while commenting on OSCE’s responsibilities on Nagorno-Karabakh.

“There is a process in place, a group that – a Minsk Group that is trying to find some answers and solutions into this. I have met with both the ambassadors from Azerbaijan and the ambassadors from Armenia, each of whom have talked to me about – separately about this conflict and how they see it in the big picture of both of their respective countries,” said James Gilmore.

He also added that The United States has taken the position that "there just simply is not going to be a military solution" to the conlfict. 

“The Minsk Group is represented by Russia, the United States, and France. I met with them previously. I think we’ll meet with them again. But as long as they continue to be engaged in a diplomatic conversation, at least we’re not seeing a further shooting conflict there”, Gilmore said.

Ambassador Gilmore concluded that the US position is to find a diplomatic, not a military solution to the conflict.

Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijan’s breakaway region which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Group’s efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.