AZERBAIJAN PROTESTS TO US STATE DEPARTMENT
TREND News Agency, Azerbaijan
April 29 2008
Azerbaijan, Baku, 29 April /Trend News corr J. Babayeva/ Official
Baku has protested to the US State Department due to the fact that on
2 May an event named ‘The 20th Anniversary of Artsakh’ will be held
in The Wilshire Ebell theatre in Los Angeles, the Azerbaijani Deputy
Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said to journalists in Baku on 29 April.
According to Azimov, official Baku also expressed its objection to
the US Embassy in Azerbaijan.
The Armenians have declared that the historical name of the
Nagorno-Karabakh region is Artsakh.
"Washington’s position on Nagorno-Karabakh was expressed in the
official statement of the State Department," Jonathan Henik, head of
PR Department at the US Embassy in Azerbaijan, said to Trend News.
"The US State Department again stated that it does not recognize
Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent state, but will continue its
activities intended for the peaceful settlement of the conflict,"
Henik said. He added that the theatre holding the event is a non-state.
Azerbaijan’s Consulate General in Los Angeles sent a protest letter
to Philip Miller, chief manager of The Wilshire Ebell, in connection
with the event.
The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began
in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since
1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In
1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group ( Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful
negotiations.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
