US AZERIS PROTEST AT ARMENIAN ALLEGATIONS
AzerNews Weekly
July 28 2009
Azerbaijan
The Azerbaijani-American Council (AAC) has issued a statement
protesting calls by two Armenian groups in the United States to
have the separatist regime in the Armenia-occupied Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh region of Azerbaijan involved in ongoing peace talks between
Baku and Yerevan.
Ken Hachikian, the head of the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA), in a letter sent to US President Barack Obama on July 14,
complained that the countries co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group
mediating the peace process are allegedly pressuring Yerevan to accept
unilateral and dangerous concessions.
Referring to Obama`s pre-election pledge, Hachikian called for
the involvement of the self-proclaimed Upper Garabagh republic in
negotiations.
The Armenian Assembly of America issued a similar statement on July 22.
In its statement, the AAC recalled that Obama, in his pre-election
speech, had spoken about peace satisfying all sides involved, noting
that one of these sides is the Azeri community of Upper Garabagh.
The Council said it was closely following the peace process, expressing
hope that the parties to the long-standing conflict would achieve
sustainable peace in the near future.
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing
of a cease-fire in 1994, but Armenia continues to occupy Upper Garabagh
and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international
law. Peace talks have not yet resulted in resolving the conflict.