U.S., France expect clarity from Russia over new Karabakh deal

PanARMENIAN.Net - The United States and France expect clarity from Russia as to the parameters of a new agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh and the role of Turkey in it, a senior State Department official told a briefing on Monday, November 16.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met French Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian on Monday, and the two had "a lot of talk about Nagorno-Karabakh," the American official said.

"They talked about Nagorno-Karabakh extensively. As two co-chairs, they shared the same view that we are – we remain committed to our role as co-chairs in the Minsk Group process, that that’s where it is, recognizing the actions that Russia took which has led to a ceasefire that’s actually held now for about a week, but also acknowledging that there were still a lot of questions that needed clarity from the Russians as to the parameters of that agreement, and that included the role of the Turks," he said.

"And so more to be learned from that. They both noted that the Russians have invited the co-chairs to Moscow for more clarity, and as you probably have seen in the wires, there have been phone calls between and among the co-chairs. Foreign Minister Le Drian noted that he had spoken to Lavrov, who acknowledged that they were trying to take action to stop what was really an emergency humanitarian situation, but there do remain questions to be discussed about that."

According to the American side, the diplomats have also spoken about Turkey and the various areas and the "concerns and differences with the Turks – various theaters across the region from the Eastern Med, Libya, Syria, and other parts."

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev have signed a statement to end the war in Karabakh after almost 45 days. Karabakh (Artsakh) President Arayik Harutyunyan has said he has agreed to the deal signed by Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan.