KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT MEETS US NATIONAL INTERESTS, AMERICAN MEDIATOR STATED

Peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement by means of negotiations within the frames of the OSCE Minsk Group (MG) conforms to the US national interests, MG US co-chair Steven Mann told Regnum IA. In his words, US pursues a long-term policy in references to this region. US has no interest in events that can threaten stability in the region as it assists energy projects, one of them being Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which is important for the whole region, the diplomat said. When replying to the question “whether the US will support Azerbaijan of the latter decides to restore its territorial integrity”, Mr. Mann stated that the US position remains unchangeable – the conflict should be resolved peacefully. At that he called the parties “to sense and compromise”. “Only by making concessions it is possible to find a solution admissible for the conflicting parties. This is the opinion of the co-chairs. Only this way we can achieve long-term peace in the region. The conflicting parties chose the OSCE to resolve this problem and we are trying to settle the conflict peacefully and will support the decisions taken by the parts”, the American diplomat stated. As for the new proposes, they always exist, he said. However everything depends on the attitude of the parties and readiness to accept them, he noted adding that the co-chairs are to continue consultations with the parties within next few weeks.