All American Patriot, Sweden
Feb 9 2005

U.S. Seeks Peaceful Settlement on Nagorno-Karabakh
State Department fact sheet provides background on conflict, U.S.
policy
08 February 2005

The U.S. Department of State issued the following fact sheet February
7, 2005, which updates a January 25, 2005, fact sheet:

ADVERTISING

(begin fact sheet)

U.S. Department of State

Fact Sheet
Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
Washington, DC
February 7, 2005

THE UNITED STATES AND NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Background

The armed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh (N-K) lasted from 1990 to
1994. By the time a cease-fire went into effect in 1994, Armenian
forces controlled most of N-K, as well as large swaths of adjacent
Azerbaijani territory. The fighting, plus the expulsion of Armenians
from Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis from Armenia, produced more than a
million refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Approximately 100,000 Azerbaijanis remain in refugee camps today,
where they face desperate living conditions. Turkey closed its land
border with Armenia during the conflict to show solidarity with
Azerbaijan and has not reopened it. The United States provides
humanitarian assistance to the victims of the conflict, which
includes support for housing and school repairs, primary health care,
irrigation, potable water and sanitation, subsistence agriculture,
micro-finance, and demining.

The parties have observed a cease-fire agreement since 1994. Although
cease-fire violations and cross-border sniping occur, all sides
insist on their continued commitment to a peaceful settlement reached
through negotiation.

Peace Process

In 1992, the CSCE (now the OSCE) created the Minsk Group, a coalition
of member states dedicated to facilitating a peaceful resolution of
the conflict. The Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group (Russia, France, and
the U.S.) serve as mediators, working in close and effective
cooperation with the parties. In 1997-98, Co-Chair shuttle diplomacy
generated three separate peace proposals. Each of these proposals was
rejected by one or another of the parties.

Beginning in 1999, Presidents Heydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Robert
Kocharian of Armenia began a direct dialogue through a series of
bilateral meetings. Positive developments during a March 2001 Paris
meeting among Presidents Aliyev, Kocharian, and Chirac inspired then
Secretary of State Colin Powell to invite both Presidents to continue
their dialogue in the United States. Aliyev and Kocharian met with
the Co-Chairs in Key West in April 2001. The sides made significant
progress but failed to reach a comprehensive settlement. Presidents
Aliyev and Kocharian met on the margins of multilateral meetings in
late 2001 and on the border between the two countries in August 2002
but failed to narrow their differences. President Heydar Aliyev died
in 2003, and negotiations slowed as both countries held presidential
elections that year.

In 2004, the Co-Chairs initiated a series of meetings in Prague
between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The “Prague
Process” was designed to reinvigorate dialogue between the sides.
Following a series of meetings between the Foreign Ministers, as well
as meetings in Warsaw and Astana between Presidents Ilham Aliyev and
Robert Kocharian, the Co-Chairs and the parties agreed the Prague
Process should continue in 2005, with a focus on advancing
negotiations towards a settlement.

The U.S. as Mediator

The U.S. remains actively engaged in advancing a peaceful settlement
of the conflict. Cooperation among the U.S., Russian, and French
mediators is excellent. The United States does not recognize
Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent country, and its leadership is not
recognized internationally or by the United States. The United States
supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and holds that the
future status of Nagorno-Karabakh is a matter of negotiation between
the parties. The United States remains committed to finding a
peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the
Minsk Group process. We are encouraged by the continuing talks
between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

(end fact sheet)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs,
U.S. Department of State. Web site: )