U.S. State Department: Settlement of NKR conflict must be based on international law

By The Armenian Weekly | Wednesday, 05 October 2016



WASHINGTON (A.W.)—The Director of the press office of the United States Department of State of State Elizabeth Trudeau said during an Oct. 3 daily press briefing that the U.S. supports a “negotiated settlement” to the Nagorno-Karabagh (Artsakh/NKR) conflict. When asked about U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s statement regarding the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan not being ready for conflict resolution, Trudeau said that a just settlement of the issue must be based on international law.


“We continue to engage actively with the sides. You know we’re co-chair of the [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] OSCE Minsk Group. Our longstanding policy shared by the Minsk Group co-chairs is that a just settlement must be based on international law, which includes the Helsinki Final Act, the principle of non-use of force or the threat of force, territorial integrity, and self-determination,” Trudeau said in her answer.

Trudeau was then asked about Secretary Kerry’s March statement that U.S. reaffirms its support for territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and Minsk Group U.S. Ambassador Warlick’s repeated statements on the U.S. position—which is based on Madrid principles, to which she answered “[T]he responsibility for peace rests on the leaders of both countries, and we would reiterate their importance in finding a negotiated peace.”

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