U.S. intelligence predicts new tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan

YEREVAN, March 10, /ARKA/. The United States Department of State commented on the U.S. intelligence announcement that it predicts tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the absence of a peace treaty.

In response to a journalists question about how much urgency does it add on in terms of the efforts to bring about peace to the region, spokesman for the State Department Ned Price said there’s always been urgency with this, and there’s been urgency because this is a delicate situation.

‘It’s a situation that is far too prone to violence, as we’ve seen in recent days in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, and it is a longstanding conflict that the United States would like to do everything we can to support its resolution,’ Price said.

He added that the United States is going to continue to do that by working bilaterally with these countries, trilaterally with Armenia and Azerbaijan, supporting their own efforts at dialogue and diplomacy, but also through all appropriate mechanisms to help these countries themselves conduct the diplomacy and reach the agreements that we hope that they will be able to make.

On 5 March, at about 10:00 am, a sabotage group of Azerbaijani armed forces crossed the line of contact and attacked a vehicle of the Nagorno-Karabakh Police, killing three unarmed police officers and wounding another one. Nagorno-Karabakh authorities described the attack as a war crime. -0-