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  • US backs Russia on Nagorno-Karabakh

    US backs Russia on Nagorno-Karabakh

    16:44 - 24.07.11


    Efforts by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to resolve the
    Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan earned more US
    support this week, Upi.com reported.

    US President Barack Obama reiterated his backing for Medvedev's
    resolve in bringing the two sides in the dispute together after they
    failed to reach agreement on a framework to end the conflict during a
    summit last month in the Russian city of Kazan.

    Medvedev since then has continued diplomatic efforts to revive the
    stalled peace process.

    A statement released by the White House indicated Obama had a phone
    conversation Monday with Medvedev which he "expressed his support for
    President Medvedev's mediation efforts regarding Nagorno-Karabakh."

    Obama, the statement said, also pledged US backing "for the effort to
    reach a framework agreement for negotiating a final peace agreement
    that will put an end to this conflict."

    Armenia and Azerbaijan warred for six years over the Nagorno-Karabakh
    territory, an Armenian-majority enclave that used to be within
    Azerbaijani borders. The active conflict, which left more than 30,000
    dead, ended with a cease-fire in 1994.

    The territory has remained under Armenian control since it claimed
    independence from Azerbaijan but its final status remains unresolved,
    and tensions over the situation are still high.

    The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Sunday expressed its concerns over the
    increasing tensions there as part of its Belgrade Declaration, in
    which it called for more active efforts to resolve the conflicts in
    Nagorno-Karabakh, Moldova and Georgia.

    Obama's remarks reiterated a joint statement he, along with Medvedev
    and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, made in May at the Deauville
    summit of the Group of Eight.

    That statement was issued in their capacities and the presidents of
    the three nations leading the Organization for Security and
    Cooperation in Europe's Minsk Group, which has been seeking a
    resolution of the conflict since 1995.

    It urged the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to "demonstrate
    their political will" by finalizing the latest version of the basic
    principles of a framework agreement hammered out in March, asserting,
    "further delay would only call into question the commitment of the
    sides to reach an agreement."

    But that remains an elusive goal after the Kazan meeting, during which
    Baku asked to introduce ten new amendments to the basic principles,
    Armenian officials said.

    Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan said afterward an
    agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh would be only possible if Azerbaijan
    gives up some of the amendments it suggested, the Russian news agency
    RIA Novosti reported.

    Shuttle diplomacy has continued since the failure of the Kazan summit.
    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited both Yerevan and Baku
    Friday, bearing letters from Medvedev in which the Russian leader
    proposed ways to keep the talks moving ahead.

    "We want the problem to be solved and solved in a way which will bring
    ultimate peace and stability to the region," Armenian President Serzh
    Sargsyan said, indicating his country would study the proposals.

    "We are carefully studying the proposal made by President Medvedev,
    and after a thorough insight we will give our response," Azerbaijani
    Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov added.

    Mammadyarov is to make an official visit to Russia next week at
    Lavrov's invitation, and it is expected both sides will continue the
    talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, RIA Novosti reported.



    Tert.am



    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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