No use of force for Karabakh conflict settlement, Clinton says

YEREVAN, June 5. /ARKA/. The use of force will not resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said Monday on a joint press conference with Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan in Yerevan. 

She said that the United States calls upon the all sides to renounce force as this conflict can’t be resolved by military actions. “Use of force will not resolve the conflict,” she said adding that the settlement may be reached only through peaceful talks.

Clinton also highlighted that the United States are very concerned about the information they received on the senseless deaths of young Armenian soldiers. 

Three Armenian soldiers were killed Monday, June 4, in a shootout with armed men who tried to infiltrate Armenia from neighboring Azerbaijan.

According to the U.S. Secretary of State there is a danger of escalation of some more tensions that can result in serious consequences.

The settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh issue should be based on all principles of Helsinki act, not just one or two of them, she stated.

Clinton also added that the United States, as one of OSCE Minsk Group members, will come up with new ideas for non-military resolution of the conflict taking into account the interests of all sides. 

She expressed hope that the recent incident will not make any obstacles for the further negotiations around the peaceful settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Clinton also added that she will declare about that on her visit to Baku.

The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh broke out in 1988 after the predominantly Armenian-populated Karabakh declared about secession from Azerbaijan. 

As Azerbaijan declared its independence from the Soviet Union and removed the powers held by the Karabakh’s government, the Armenian majority voted in 1991, December 10, to secede from Azerbaijan and in the process proclaimed the enclave the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. Full-scale fighting, initiated by Azerbaijan, erupted in the late winter of 1992. International mediation by several groups including Europe's OSCE’s failed to bring an end resolution that both sides could work with. 

In the spring of 1993, Armenian forces captured regions outside the enclave itself. By the end of the war in 1994, the Armenians were in full control of most of the enclave and also held and currently control seven regions beyond the administrative borders of Nagorno-Karabakh. Almost 1 million people on both sides have been displaced as a result of the conflict. A Russian- -brokered ceasefire was signed in May 1994 and peace talks, mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group, have been held ever since by Armenia and Azerbaijan.-0-