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THE UNITED STATES AND THE CONFLICT OVER NAGORNO-KARABAKH
US Department of State
http://www.state.gov/p/eur/rls/fs/103560.htm
April 15 2008
DC
The U.S. remains actively engaged in advancing a peaceful settlement
of the conflict. Cooperation among the U.S., Russian, and French
mediators is excellent. The United States does not recognize
Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent country, and its leadership is not
recognized internationally or by the United States. The United States
supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and holds that the
future status of Nagorno-Karabakh is a matter of negotiation between
the parties with the aim of achieving a lasting and comprehensive
political resolution of the conflict. The United States remains
committed to finding a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict through the Minsk Group process.
Background
The armed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh (N-K) lasted from 1990 to
1994. By the time a cease-fire went into effect in 1994, Armenian
forces controlled most of the N-K region of Azerbaijan, as well as a
considerable amount of adjacent Azerbaijani territory. The fighting,
plus the expulsion of Armenians from Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis
from Armenia, produced more than a million refugees and internally
displaced persons (IDPs). Approximately 100,000 Azerbaijanis remain
in refugee camps today, where they face desperate living conditions.
Turkey closed its land border with Armenia during the conflict to show
solidarity with Azerbaijan and has not reopened it. The United States
provides humanitarian assistance to the victims of the conflict, which
includes support for housing and school repairs, primary health care,
irrigation, potable water and sanitation, subsistence agriculture,
micro-finance, and demining.
The parties have observed a cease-fire agreement since 1994. Although
cease-fire violations and cross-border sniping occur, all sides
insist on their continued commitment to a peaceful settlement reached
through negotiation.
Peace Process
In 1992, the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
(CSCE)--now the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE)--created the Minsk Group, a coalition of member states dedicated
to facilitating a peaceful resolution of the conflict. The Co-Chairs
of the Minsk Group (Russia, France, and the U.S.) serve as mediators,
working in close and effective cooperation with the parties. In
1997-98, Co-Chair shuttle diplomacy generated three separate peace
proposals. Each of these proposals was rejected by one or another of
the parties.
Beginning in 1999, Presidents Heydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Robert
Kocharian of Armenia began a direct dialogue through a series of
bilateral meetings. Positive developments during a March 2001 Paris
meeting among Presidents Aliyev, Kocharian, and Chirac inspired
then Secretary of State Colin L. Powell to invite both Presidents to
continue their dialogue in the United States. Aliyev and Kocharian
met with the Co-Chairs in Key West in April 2001. The sides made
significant progress but failed to reach a comprehensive settlement.
Presidents Aliyev and Kocharian met on the margins of multilateral
meetings in late 2001 and on the border between the two countries in
August 2002 but failed to narrow their differences. President Heydar
Aliyev died in 2003, and negotiations slowed as both countries held
presidential elections that year.
In 2004, the Co-Chairs initiated a series of meetings in Prague between
the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The "Prague Process"
was designed to reinvigorate dialogue between the sides.
Following an initial series of meetings between the Foreign
Ministers, Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharian began meeting
more regularly, with a focus on advancing negotiations towards a
settlement. During this period, the Co-Chairs introduced a proposed
set of Basic Principles for the Peaceful Settlement of the N-K
Conflict to serve as the basis for the conclusion of an eventual
peace agreement. Negotiations over the Basic Principles continued
throughout 2005 and 2006. On the margins of the OSCE Ministerial
Council in Madrid in November 2007, the ministerial representatives
of the three Co-Chair countries - Under Secretary of State Nicholas
Burns, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, and Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov - formally presented a refined set of Basic
Principles to the Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers, for
direct transmission to their presidents, and urged them to endorse the
proposal and proceed on this basis with drafting a peace agreement. The
Madrid document was archived on a confidential basis with the Secretary
General of the OSCE.
The Co-Chairs have stated their intention to continue the negotiations
on the Basic Principles in 2008 and to secure an endorsement from
both Presidents as soon as possible.
US Department of State
http://www.state.gov/p/eur/rls/fs/103560.htm
April 15 2008
DC
The U.S. remains actively engaged in advancing a peaceful settlement
of the conflict. Cooperation among the U.S., Russian, and French
mediators is excellent. The United States does not recognize
Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent country, and its leadership is not
recognized internationally or by the United States. The United States
supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and holds that the
future status of Nagorno-Karabakh is a matter of negotiation between
the parties with the aim of achieving a lasting and comprehensive
political resolution of the conflict. The United States remains
committed to finding a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict through the Minsk Group process.
Background
The armed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh (N-K) lasted from 1990 to
1994. By the time a cease-fire went into effect in 1994, Armenian
forces controlled most of the N-K region of Azerbaijan, as well as a
considerable amount of adjacent Azerbaijani territory. The fighting,
plus the expulsion of Armenians from Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis
from Armenia, produced more than a million refugees and internally
displaced persons (IDPs). Approximately 100,000 Azerbaijanis remain
in refugee camps today, where they face desperate living conditions.
Turkey closed its land border with Armenia during the conflict to show
solidarity with Azerbaijan and has not reopened it. The United States
provides humanitarian assistance to the victims of the conflict, which
includes support for housing and school repairs, primary health care,
irrigation, potable water and sanitation, subsistence agriculture,
micro-finance, and demining.
The parties have observed a cease-fire agreement since 1994. Although
cease-fire violations and cross-border sniping occur, all sides
insist on their continued commitment to a peaceful settlement reached
through negotiation.
Peace Process
In 1992, the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
(CSCE)--now the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE)--created the Minsk Group, a coalition of member states dedicated
to facilitating a peaceful resolution of the conflict. The Co-Chairs
of the Minsk Group (Russia, France, and the U.S.) serve as mediators,
working in close and effective cooperation with the parties. In
1997-98, Co-Chair shuttle diplomacy generated three separate peace
proposals. Each of these proposals was rejected by one or another of
the parties.
Beginning in 1999, Presidents Heydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Robert
Kocharian of Armenia began a direct dialogue through a series of
bilateral meetings. Positive developments during a March 2001 Paris
meeting among Presidents Aliyev, Kocharian, and Chirac inspired
then Secretary of State Colin L. Powell to invite both Presidents to
continue their dialogue in the United States. Aliyev and Kocharian
met with the Co-Chairs in Key West in April 2001. The sides made
significant progress but failed to reach a comprehensive settlement.
Presidents Aliyev and Kocharian met on the margins of multilateral
meetings in late 2001 and on the border between the two countries in
August 2002 but failed to narrow their differences. President Heydar
Aliyev died in 2003, and negotiations slowed as both countries held
presidential elections that year.
In 2004, the Co-Chairs initiated a series of meetings in Prague between
the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The "Prague Process"
was designed to reinvigorate dialogue between the sides.
Following an initial series of meetings between the Foreign
Ministers, Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharian began meeting
more regularly, with a focus on advancing negotiations towards a
settlement. During this period, the Co-Chairs introduced a proposed
set of Basic Principles for the Peaceful Settlement of the N-K
Conflict to serve as the basis for the conclusion of an eventual
peace agreement. Negotiations over the Basic Principles continued
throughout 2005 and 2006. On the margins of the OSCE Ministerial
Council in Madrid in November 2007, the ministerial representatives
of the three Co-Chair countries - Under Secretary of State Nicholas
Burns, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, and Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov - formally presented a refined set of Basic
Principles to the Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers, for
direct transmission to their presidents, and urged them to endorse the
proposal and proceed on this basis with drafting a peace agreement. The
Madrid document was archived on a confidential basis with the Secretary
General of the OSCE.
The Co-Chairs have stated their intention to continue the negotiations
on the Basic Principles in 2008 and to secure an endorsement from
both Presidents as soon as possible.