Today, Azerbaijan
March 1 2005

US officials disappointed on statement by US ambassador to Armenia

01 March 2005 [15:23] – Today.Az

The US officials were disappointed on the statement by John Evans,
the US Ambassador to Armenia, who stated to a meeting with the
Armenian Diaspora at the Berkli University at California on the
impossibility of returning Karabakh to Azerbaijan, Hafiz Pashayev,
the Azerbaijani Ambassador to the United States, told Trend.

He discussed the issue with the US officials, including Lora Kennedy,
the Deputy Secretary of State on Caucasus, Central Asia and Southeast
Europe.

“They once more assured the Azerbaijani Ambassador that the United
States supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and doe
recognize neither Nagorno-Karabakh Republic nor its government,”
Pashayev stressed. Such an irresponsible statement by the US
Ambassador on the eve of a meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministers is unaffordable.

“Evans should make clarification to this statement as soon as
possible. Every diplomat takes its maximum to avoid any statement
contradicting official standpoint of his country. The atmosphere
ruling in the meetings with the Armenian Diaspora in different states
of the United States over a fortnight seems to influence on Evans
enough to make him violate the major principle of diplomacy,”
Pashayev underlined.

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