Azerbaijan awaiting "good news" from Obama

PanARMENIAN.Net - US Azeri and Turkish Diaspora addressed a letter to US President Barack Obama. "Last year's war between Georgia and Russia punctuated the continuous threat to peace and security in the South Caucasus arising from unresolved territorial conflicts that have spanned more than two decades since the fall of the Soviet Union. Recently several Iranian officials openly threatened Azerbaijan for hosting Israeli President Shimon Peres in Baku. Similarly, four UN Security Council resolutions demanding that Armenian forces withdraw and cease the occupation of Azerbaijan lands since 1993 have achieved little for the displaced one million refugees and IDPs. All of this adds to the urgency of reaching a sustainable peace based on the fundamentals of international law and human rights, or, as you have stated earlier, "a lasting and durable settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict."



"The South Caucasus holds great promise for regional and global peace and prosperity. Yet the region's potential has been disrupted and disabled by two decades of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenia's own development has been paralyzed as a result of self-imposed isolation from major regional projects." "Should the Armenian leadership demonstrate productive pragmatism, it can help integrate the nation with the economic and democratic future of the region securing a peace and prosperity for its people. Such a future would include open communications and borders, including the Turkish -Armenian border. A lasting and durable peace would advance US interests as it provides for lasting stability in a strategically important region where the United States requires solid friends."



"Therefore, on behalf of the Azerbaijani-American and Turkish-American communities, we support and encourage your Good Office to intensify US efforts towards reaching a just peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan based on UN Security Council resolutions and the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, and to seize this historic opportunity. While we recognize the significant pressures that bear from special interests opposed to peace for a variety of reasons, including nationalist and religious ones, we hope that America's vision for South Caucasus is informed by its national interests and its relationship with strategic partners in the region."



Letter copy was sent to US Vice President Joseph Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, 1news.az reported.