U.S. To Azerbaijan:  "Actions Have Impact"

The United States on Friday defended its position on the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process after Baku snubbed the next round of Karabakh meetings in Washington accusing the U.S. of bias.

"Azerbaijan is aware its actions have had an impact on our relationship, but we continue to engage both Armenia and Azerbaijan in pursuit of peace"  a State Department Spokesperson told TURAN's Washington correspondent Friday morning.

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it could not take part in a meeting planned for Nov. 20 in Washington due to the "one-sided approach of the United States," as it put it.

Baku objected in particular to comments this Wednesday by Ambassador James O’Brien before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in which the top State Department official in charge of Caucasus policy said 'there cannot be 'business as usual' in Washington's relations with Azerbaijan "as long as the peace agreement between Baku and Yerevan goes unconcluded."
 

"We're putting forth all the elements that we see as important in the relationship in order to see whether we can get a peace agreement concluded now." Ambassador James O’Brien told lawmakers.