US PLEDGES NEUTRALITY ON KARABAKH CONFLICT

news.az
Azerbaijan
April 21 2010

The US State Department has dismissed Azerbaijani accusations that
it takes a pro-Armenian position on the Karabakh conflict.

The United States does not support anyone in the Karabakh conflict,
the head of the US State Department’s news service, Mark Toner,
said in an interview with Voice of America yesterday.

He said that Washington appreciated and supported the efforts of the
OSCE Minsk Group to mediate in the conflict.

Mark Toner dismissed statements about a cooling of relations between
Azerbaijan and the United States. He said that the United States, as a
co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, sought to reach a common denominator
in agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia: ‘The US does not recognize
the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh. We do not support any side, we
support the Minsk process and the peaceful resolution of the conflict.’

Azerbaijani officials have expressed dissatisfaction at the US position
on Nagorno-Karabakh.

Ali Hasanov, head of the public policy department at the presidential
administration, on 15 April accused the USA of often taking a
unilateral position in support of Armenia. ‘We urge the United States
to take a neutral position,’ Hasanov said.