By Laman Ismayilova

The United States remains committed to working with the parties to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict toward a peaceful settlement of the conflict, said Richard Hoagland, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair from the U.S.

The U.S., along with Russia and France, is a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group established to broker a peace to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. However, all of efforts of the MG have brought no tangible results so far.

Hoagland, talking to Trend, noted that the issues relating to the return of territories, return of Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs to their lands, non-use of force and status for Nagorno-Karabakh are all important elements of a comprehensive settlement the parties need to discuss.

“This is precisely why my fellow co-chairs and I continue to encourage the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia to meet at the earliest possible opportunity and engage in good-faith negotiations on a way forward,” he said. “I would like to remind that the OSCE co-chairs are mediators and facilitators. We cannot force a final decision; only the leaders of the sides can decide when it is finally time to make an historic decision that will guarantee peace and lead to eventual prosperity for the entire region.”

In 2016, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan twice, first in Vienna in May, and the second time in St. Petersburg in June along with Russian President Vladimir Putin. No meeting has been organized this year.

During the increased diplomatic activity in the coming weeks and months, the co-chairs will be making a number of statements to reinforce policy and encourage highest-level negotiations, added Hoagland.

Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan by laying territorial claims on its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.