State Department: Minsk Group Co-Chairs to visit Baku, Yerevan this weekend

Top U.S. envoy on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue will visit Baku and Yerevan this weekend to discuss the role of the Minsk Group, the OSCE body that works on resolving the conflict, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

Andrew Schofer, U.S. co-chair, is currently visiting Geneva, and will be headed directly to Azerbaijan and Armenia with other co-chairs, "to see where we can get them back into a role to try to move forward on a diplomatic solution,” Philip Reeker, acting assistant secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs announced during his testimony before the Helsinki Commission, on Tuesday, Dec 8.

Washington will continue to "watch closely" the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, as it considers the OSCE to be the right platform to raise the matter with the other countries.

"We will keep Europe’s protracted conflicts - whether in Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict - high on the OSCE agenda. We will continue to use the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to find a just and lasting resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The cessation of the fighting is only the first step. Any enduring solution must be based on the principles in the Helsinki Final Act,"  Reeker said.

"While we made progress on these and other issues, deep differences, notably between Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia and most others, continue to be an obstacle for more concrete and substantive gains." he added.

The U.S. welcomed the secession of hostilities in the conflict zone and "deeply regrets" the loss of lives, including many civilians: "Those lives don't come back".

For Reeker, the Minsk Group which was designed to help Armenia and Azerbaijan "represents the best opportunity" to find a solution.

"We continue to believe that there is no long term military solution there," he said, explaining that Armenians' victory on the battlefield decades ago failed to end the conflict, and that the Minsk Group "tried to hold the balance through diplomacy".  Now, given the results of the recent hostilities, the solution, he "has to be attained at the negotiating table, and we believe that the Co-Chairs represent the best opportunity there" he said.

Washington is also working with Moscow and Paris as it has "a lot of questions" about the ceasefire that was put in place by Russia, as well as about the role of Turkey.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.