U.S. diplomat: Armenia didn't use all diplomatic options for Karabakh

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia did not make use of all the diplomatic options for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, retired top U.S. diplomat Daniel Fried has said, commenting on the situation in the South Caucasus region and Armenia's defeat in the 44-day war.

Fried believes the extreme positions of the sides hampered the settlement of the Karabakh conflict as both Armenia and Azerbaijan were obsessed with the conflict, the Voice of America reports.

The diplomat, who served as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs from 2005 to 2009, maintained that Armenia has failed to develop as a state, instead it was confident about its victory, which didn't prove right.

"The Americans can help, and we, of course, are not going to abandon them and will continue making efforts for the peaceful settlement of the conflict," Fried said, adding, however, that the situation has changed for the worse now.

According to him, Armenia should think about its future. Fried also described "the democratic elections" in Armenia and acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's victory as a positive trend.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev on November 9 signed a statement to end the war in Karabakh after almost 45 days. Under the deal, the Armenian side has returned all the seven regions surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, having lost a part of Karabakh itself in hostilities.