Status Quo In Nagorno Karabakh Conflict Cannot Last Long, Says U.S.

STATUS QUO IN NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT CANNOT LAST LONG, SAYS U.S. DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE

Shanghai Daily

Oct 18 2011

BAKU, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) — The existent status-quo in Armenia-
Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh conflict cannot last long and must be
treated with seriousness and urgency, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of
State William Burns said Tuesday in Baku.

According to Burns, the U.S. remains committed to the principle of
doing everything possible to strengthen and update process conducted by
the OSCE Minsk Group on the highest level – at the presidential level.

The Deputy Secretary of State said the United States being a co-
chair of the OSCE Minsk Group stands ready to continue talks on
peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The military
way of solution of the problem is impossible, he said.

As part of his visit to Azerbaijan, Burns also met with President
of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on Tuesday. The meeting focused on the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno Karabakh and cooperation
in the field of global projects and activities in the energy sector.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a cease-fire deal in 1994 over the
disputed Nagorno-Karabakh, a region that lies within Azerbaijan but
has been under the control of Armenian troops and ethnic Armenian
forces after a separatist war broke out in 1988.

The OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, Russia and the United
States, has been orchestrating the peace negotiations between the
two South Caucasus countries since then.