“There can be no lasting military solution of Nagorno Karabakh,” U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills said in a Facebook chat with reporters on the first anniversary of his mission in Armenia.
“The escalation of tragic violence and rhetoric along the line of contact is a source of deep concern to the U.S. government. The possibility of that escalation triggering even through misjudgment or error along the line of conflict is real in my view. That is why the Minsk Group Co-Chairs have urged both sides to take steps to reduce the level of violence along the line of contact, and to implement mechanisms for monitoring the situation,” Amb. Mills said.
“This was a topic of discussion when the two Presidents met in Bern, Switzerland, in December. The U.S. Co-Chair, Ambassador Warlick, is engaged with the other Co-Chairs in continuing to move the dialogue forward,” he added.
“The Minsk Group co-chairs have raised with both sides the importance of investigative mechanisms along the line of contact and other steps to reduce the level of violence. This was discussed between the two Presidents during their meeting in Bern, in December. It is up to the two leaders to reach agreement on such steps. The Minsk Co-Chairs are facilitating discussions that I hope will lead to agreement,” Richard Mills said.
“Although there are some stark policy differences between the U.S. and Russia, we are still able to find common ground and cooperate on other issues of importance to the international community – most notably on the Iran nuclear issue and within the Minsk Group, where I have seen first-hand the Russian, French, and U.S. co-chairs engage effectively,” the Ambassador said.