US ‘STRONGLY COMMITTED’ TO KARABAKH SOLUTION

news.az
March 31 2010
Azerbaijan

Donald Lu The US chargé d’affaires in Baku has said that the USA
sees talks as the only solution to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict
over Nagorno-Karabakh.

‘The US is strongly committed to the resolution of the Karabakh
conflict. We see no alternative to the negotiations, we believe in a
peaceful solution of this conflict. These negotiations will require
political will from the leaders of both countries,’ Donald Lu told
journalists yesterday.

He said that the people of Azerbaijan should know that the leadership
of his country, the president and the secretary of state were committed
to a resolution.

Commenting on the long awaited appointment of a new US ambassador to
Azerbaijan, the chargé d’affaires said the new appointee would be
someone experienced and highly skilled in diplomacy.

‘This ambassador is worth waiting for,’ Donald Lu said. ‘The relations
between the US and Azerbaijan are very strong and the US has a profound
interest in Azerbaijan. I would like to remind you that the deputy
secretary has visited Baku, members of Congress visit Azerbaijan,
we have the military visiting here. We hope that we will soon have
an ambassador here. As you may know, our system in the US is very
complicated. Many countries around the world do not have an American
ambassador yet, many important countries including Azerbaijan. It is
not a reflection of our relations with Azerbaijan, it is a reflection
of the bureaucracy in the US. We hope that the new ambassador will
come soon.’

The USA has had no ambassador in Baku since the departure of the last
incumbent, Anne Derse, in July 2009.