AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
April 16 2010

Baku says discontent with US policy on Garabagh

16-04-2010 06:25:38

An Azerbaijani presidential administration official has said Baku was
not content with the United States’ policy on the settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh.
Ali Hasanov, the head of the Presidential Administration
socio-political department, said this discontent is primarily due to
the lack of an impartial position that the U.S. should adhere to as
one of the mediators in Garabagh settlement.
Hasanov noted that Azerbaijan has repeatedly raised – on different
levels ` the issue of the violation of its territorial integrity.
`But, unfortunately, some US institutions and circles, under pressure
from the Armenian lobby, are failing to display neutrality and are
openly giving support to Armenia.’
Armenia and Azerbaijan waged a war in the early 1990s, which claimed
some 30,000 lives and displaced about one million Azerbaijanis.
Armenia has been occupying over 20% of Azerbaijan’s internationally
recognized territory since then. Peace talks, brokered by the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France, have
largely accomplished no result so far.
Hasanov emphasized that Washington’s policy has lately been aimed at
extricating Armenia from a socio-economic predicament, and the
neighboring states and other countries have come under pressure to
forge political, economic and social relations with Armenia.
`We believe that this is not in line with the US mission, particularly
that carried out within the OSCE Minsk Group.
`If the U.S. indeed supports the emergence of peace in the region, a
solution to the conflict, improvement of Armenia’s economic situation
and its joining the trans-national projects being implemented in the
region, it should force this country to relinquish its policy of
occupation.*

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress