U.S. Ambassador: We remain committed to peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict and do everything on this way

• Monday, September 24, 12:20

"If during my diplomatic mission in Azerbaijan will be able to resolve the Karabakh conflict, then I'll feel like the happiest man in the world", U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar, who visited Lankaran, where a women's World Cup U-17 match held, told APA.  The Ambassador said that he would make every effort to resolve the conflict in the framework of negotiations conducted by the OSCE Minsk Group.

He stressed that Azerbaijan has a very good position to develop the economic potential and becoming a country with a developed economy. Settlement of the Karabakh conflict will create conditions under which Azerbaijan as a state leader in the region, will be able to help the neighboring countries, including Armenia in the economic growth and progress.

"We remain on the idea of peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict and do everything we can along the way. The purpose of the U.S. government is a peaceful solution to the problem. From conversations with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, I can confidently say that the solution to this conflict is a priority
issue for the United States", - he said.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict broke out on February 28 1988 in the Azerbaijani Sumgait with massacre of Armenians as a peculiar response of Azerbaijanis to the peaceful demand of the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous Region, part of the Azerbaijani SSR, to unite with the Armenian SSR. This resulted in other pogroms of Armenians in Baku, Kirovabad and other regions of Azerbaijan populated with Armenians. In 1991  Azerbaijan unleashed war against peaceful populations of Nagorno-Karabakh, expulsing ethnic Armenians from the territory of Azerbaijan. Dozens of thousands of peaceful residents on both parties were killed in the military actions, and hundreds of thousands were left homeless and have become refugees. In 1994 in Bishkek in
mediation of the OSCE MG, the NKR, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a Protocol on Ceasefire that is observed more or less so far. Since 1992 the OSCE Minsk Group represented by co- chairs from Russia, U.S. and France has been mediating in resolution of the conflict unleashed by Azerbaijan in 1988. At present the peace process is based on the Madrid Principles suggested by the OSCE MG in 2007 in Madrid and renovated in 2009.