Kerry: U.S. committed to continuing Karabakh settlement efforts

PanARMENIAN.Net - The United States strongly supports the role of Azerbaijan in European energy diversification through the Southern Gas Corridor, Secretary of State John Kerry said on May 27, according to Trend.

"Ninety-seven years ago, the people of Azerbaijan established the first secular democratic republic in the Muslim world. And since you declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, our two countries have worked together to promote Azerbaijan’s sovereignty, democratic development, and prosperity", Kerry said.

He congratulated the people of Azerbaijan on the Republic Day of May 28.

According to him, USA and Azerbaijan work side by side to combat terrorism and improve regional and global security through NATO’s mission in Afghanistan.

“The United States is committed to continuing efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, combat transnational threats, and advance the rule of law,” Kerry added.

The Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement is among Moscow’s foreign policy priorities, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after negotiations with his Azeri counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov.

“It’s undeniable that the solution of the conflict has been dragged out for quite a while. Still there’s an actual basis for decision-making. What we need now is for understanding of that basis to be formulated,” the official said.

He further confirmed Russia’s readiness in helping the conflicting sides find a solution. “Yesterday, we took several hours to discuss approaches to the Karabakh settlement taking into consideration many year’s of work conducted in that area, fist of all, in the framework of the OSCE Minks Group,” Lavrov said, adding that he views the situation “with cautious optimism.”