State Dept official: no military solution to Karabakh conflict

July 16, 2015 - 13:38 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - There has never been or can ever be a military settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Eric Rubin, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs said.

According to Rubin, the United States has focused on a fair, peaceful and long-lasting settlement of the conflict, acceptable to all the conflicting parties. “This approach must prevail for the peace process to succeed,” he stated at the Brookings Institution, according to Tert.am.

"There is no better solution: all the others are so unacceptable that they are not even worth considering," Rubin said. "It is time for the conflicting parties to reaffirm their readiness for and commitment to progress, without elaborating on whether this should be achieved through the parties’ statements or a presidential meeting."

Rubin noted that the U.S. and other co-chairing states are ready to do their best to establish a long-lasting peace, while the conflicting parties must refrain from using force.

Tert.am. Parties to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must re-affirm commitment to peaceful settlement – Eric Rubin

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out as result of the ethnic cleansing launched by the Azeri authorities in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 (when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed) to 1994 (when a ceasefire was sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan). Most of Nagorno Karabakh and a security zone consisting of 7 regions are now under control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.