Azerbaijan "disliked" U.S. Congressmen's statements on Karabakh conflict

PanARMENIAN.Net - The New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) sent a letter protest to a group of U.S. Congressmen over the position on the Karabakh conflict they presented during the House Foreign Affairs Committee's "The Caucasus: Frozen Conflicts and Closed Borders" hearing.



The letter addressed to Congressmen Howard Berman, Joe Knollenberg, Brad Sherman, Adam Schiff, Frank Pallone says that "the developing strategic partnership between the U.S. and Azerbaijan were thoroughly commented and great importance was attached to these relations during the hearing."



"Unfortunately, speeches of some Congressmen caused protest among the Azerbaijani public, as well as the ruling New Azerbaijan Party. The Nagorno Karabakh conflict was not approached objectively; statements not corresponding to the truth were made. We are confident that you and other Congressmen, who made statements of the kind, are aware of the UN Security Council's resolutions adopted on the conflict. You know that 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory has been occupied by Armenia and over one million people have been displaced. Due its aggressive policy, Armenia has isolated itself from the regional projects. If you protest any blockade, it would be more right and logical if you first of all directed these protests to Armenia," the letter says, the Azeri Press Agency reports.



"I'm deeply concerned by the series of increasingly bellicose statements made over the past year about Nagorno Karabakh by senior Azerbaijani officials, as well as the steady increase in Azerbaijan's defense budget as that nation acquires more oil wealth. The serious breakdown earlier this year in the 14-year-old cease-fire has been widely blamed on Azerbaijani provocations," Congressman Howard Berman said in his remarks during the June 18 House hearing.



Rep. Pallone, for his part, noted his concerns about Azerbaijan's pressure on the State Department with respect to U.S.-Nagorno Karabakh contacts.