Minsk Group 'Not Functioning', State Department Says

The OSCE Minsk Group "has not been a functioning body for some time," the State Department Spokesperson told a daily press briefing on Wednesday, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"... But we are prepared to work to resolve this conflict bilaterally, multilaterally through the OSCE, with partners, with the parties themselves," Spokesperson Ned Price said in response to TURAN's questions about Washington's mediating efforts.

According to Price, the U.S. works "remarkably closely" with its European partners when it comes to Nagorno-Karabakh:  "... Our European partners do have monitoring missions; they have a presence on the ground... So we share our information with our European partners. The same is true of them to us."

Price went on to add, "And we believe it’s important that we continue to work closely together with our European partners, through the OSCE as appropriate, directly with the parties if and when it’s effective. We’ve done all of those things and we’ll continue to do what we think is effective to bring about a lasting peace and a diminution of the tensions."

Price's comments came after Azerbaijan rejected Washington's concerns about the current situation around the Lachin corridor. The spokesperson refrained from responding to Baku. In the meantime, he expressed Washington's commitment to supporting a lasting peace.

"... We believe that negotiations is the path forward. In the near term, we’ve called for that restoration of free movement so that the humanitarian needs of those who depend on this corridor for lifesaving essentials and supplies can be met, and the United States will continue to do what we can to bring the parties together, to encourage this dialogue, and to encourage a full restoration of this free movement through the corridor," Price said.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.