US urges Baku, Yerevan to refrain from further violations

A.Raufoglu

Washington, DC

Washington on Friday reinstated an urge towards Azerbaijan and Armenia to refrain from the use of threat or force in Nagorno-Karabakh, amid the reports about a weeklong escalation of violence in the line of contac.

“We’ve seen the reports and regret any loss of life… And our position remains that the use of force will not resolve this conflict. We call on all parties to refrain from the use or threat of force,” Marie Harf, State Department Deputy Spokesperson said, during the daily press briefing.

As the co-chair country of OSCE Minsk Group, US remains “deeply committed to working with the sides to achieve a peaceful settlement of the conflict,” she emphasized. “That’s certainly our goal. That hasn’t changed. We know it’s difficult, but we’ll keep working on it.”

As tension along the front line has escalated dramatically over the last couple of days, many in Washington worry that violence might underline the risk of a conflict in the Caucasus region, one of the useful alternative transit options for the transport of supplies to and from the NATO-led force in Afghanistan.

Speaking to TURAN, analyst Karl Rahder, a Caucasus watcher based in Chicago, said that even a war in 2014 “is a little less likely than afterwards, since a conflict this year would complicate the transport of materiel via the Northern Distribution Network, but in the mid-term, the tension will ratchet up as the Azerbaijani army continues to probe for weak spots along the Line of Contact, complicating the transport of material via the NDN as NATO withdraws from Afghanistan..."

“IlhamAliyev has "all his ducks in a row," as we say in English… He won the "election," he signed the gas deal, he is just about finished tidying up his opposition problem. So what does that mean insofar as regional security is concerned? Well, for one thing, it means that the president has a multi-year window for attacking Karabakh with a minimum of distractions if he decides that the time has come to do so,” Rahder said.

“I'm not saying that it’s a fait accompli, but my view is that in the west we are far too complacent regarding the script that says, “War won’t happen because the status quo benefits both Sargsyan and Aliyev,” he added.

Meantime In Paris, MG Co-chairs on Friday expressed their “deep concern” over continued violence in the region, and stressed that recent incidents undermine negotiations and diminish the prospects for peace, during their meeting with Azerbaijani-Armenian foreign ministers, according to the MG statement.

AndrzejKasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, also participated in the meeting and briefed the sides. The co-chairs called on the sides to “fully and unconditionally respect the terms of the ceasefire agreement,” reads the statement.

The Ministers reiterated their willingness to continue working towards a peaceful, negotiated settlement. The Co-chairs plan to travel to the region in the coming weeks to continue talks with the presidents.

ANN.Az