U.S. 'Welcomes' UN Team Mission To Karabakh: State Dept

Washington D.C./02.10.23/Turan:     The United States 'welcomes' the UN team mission to Nagorno-Karabakh, State Department's spokesperson Matthew Miller told TURAN's Washington correspondent during a Monday press briefing.

"We welcome that mission," Miller said as the first report of the UN team came out.

Washington has also been working with regional partners on the deployment of a separate international mission in the region.

"We continue to work with our allies and partners about what a more long-term mission will look like," Miller said.

The spokesperson refrained from offering any position on ethnic cleansing claims in Nagorno-Karabakh.
"The determination regarding genocide or ethnic cleansing is based on a deliberate, evidence-based process. It's not something I can speak to with any degree of finality from this podium," he said.

He went on to add, "But the region has been emptied of civilian population. It is certainly true that... around 100,000 ethnic Armenians have departed Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia... I don't think any of us can say what percentage of those plan to remain in Armenia permanently, what percentage of them may want to come back if the conditions allow, if they felt sufficient assurances about their treatment, if they would return, which is why we are reiterating our call for an independent international monitoring mission that would provide transparency and reassurance to the population of Nagorno-Karabakh that the rights and securities of ethnic Armenians will be protected, particularly for any of those that wish to return."

Miller reminded that Azerbaijan has made those assurances. "We think there ought to be an international monitoring mission there to observe and guarantee," he added.

Asked by TURAN's correspondent whether there is still any room left for a peace agreement, Miller said, "We think certainly there ought to be. There are other issues beyond the status of Nagorno-Karabakh that are at dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and we would encourage them to return to peace talks to discuss and ultimately come to a resolution on those issues"

Alex Raufoglu