USA SEES KARABAKH AS PART OF AZERBAIJAN, HOPES TO GO AHEAD WITH SECURITY TALKS

Azartac news agency, Baku
24 Apr 07

A senior US diplomat has sought to justify amendments to a State
Department report which has caused a rare diplomatic row between Baku
and Washington.

Matthew Bryza, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and
Eurasian affairs, said that the amendments to the 2006 Country Report
on Human Rights Practices were necessary to prove the US neutrality
in Karabakh talks.

Bryza said that a statement in the initial version of the report about
the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijan’s Nagornyy Karabakh region and
surrounding territories was a "mistake".

"Given the current stage of talks on Nagornyy Karabakh, this was
our mistake," the US diplomat said in an interview with Azerbaijan’s
state-owned Azartac news agency.

"The amendments say that Armenian forces are occupying territories
[adjacent to Nagornyy Karabakh] but Armenian officials say that
[Armenia] is not occupying Nagornyy Karabakh. As you can see, we
simply wrote what the Armenian side said."

Bryza reiterated his government’s support for Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity.

"If you looked at the official website of the Department of State,
you could see that we recognize Azerbaijan’s territories integrity.

We recognize Xankandi as part of Azerbaijan," Bryza said, referring
to the capital of breakaway region.

Armenians call the town Stepanakert.

Bryza dismissed allegations that the wording of the report was changed
under pressure from the powerful Armenian diaspora.

"I repeat that we had made a mistake, which we amended. I have to say
that we were not influenced by anyone. Some people say that we did
so under pressure from some diaspora groups. This is not correct,"
Azartac quoted the US diplomat as saying.

Bryza expressed the hope that high-level security talks between
Azerbaijani and US officials, which were cancelled by Azerbaijan in
protest at the amendments, would go ahead.

"I want to stress that this is a partnership. The USA does not want
anything from Azerbaijan. What we want is to listen to each other
and look for ways of strengthening our security through cooperation,"
he said.

Bryza stressed that his country was a friend of Azerbaijan.

"I think we have repeatedly demonstrated that we are a reliable friend
of Azerbaijan. We realize that we need each other. Let us trust our
friendship, leave all this behind and go ahead with talks.

You should trust us because we trust Azerbaijan."