James O'Brien, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, said at the opening of the discussion titled ‘The Future of Nagorno-Karabakh’ in the Foreign Relations Committee of the US Congress.
“This conflict is the legacy of the involvement of the USSR and Russia in the region. We have been dealing with this role for centuries, especially the last three decades. As you rightly mentioned, 100 thousand people were uprooted from Nagorno-Karabakh. An entire culture left with them, at least temporarily.
We insist that people should have access to that region, to the property, to the culture. It must also be ensured that people receive adequate information about all options for return. They should know that they can return and live in Nagorno-Karabakh if that’s what they choose.
I am encouraged that the UN and the ICRC reported that they had unrestricted access to Nagorno-Karabakh to verify conditions on the ground. We are working to make sure that they are also able to meet with refugees in Armenia to provide them with clear and reliable information.
First and foremost, we want these people to have the ability to make a viable choice, to have the information and rights to make decisions for themselves. We have already allocated money to help refugees since September 19. I also met on Friday with Prime Minister Pashinyan to discuss other steps to provide further support to refugees. On the instructions of the Secretary of State, a working group was created to investigate the situation and analyze the information received from various sources. When our report is ready, we will be happy to present it to you.
The second direction in which we work is the support provided to Armenia. Over the past two years, I have had the opportunity to work with Armenia as a sanctions coordinator at the State Department. I am very impressed by the commitment of the Armenian Government to carry out reforms and diversify the existing economic, political, energy and security relations, especially with the transatlantic community. I think we should help the people of Armenia in this difficult situation. The decisions that are taken bravely in Armenia will be able to guarantee a safe, stable and prosperous future for the people in the future. We are working with the EU to offer support to Armenia over the next months. This was also discussed during my meeting with Prime Minister Pashinyan on Friday. It is critical that we support the people of Armenia, the Government and their choices.
The third direction is the peace agreement, towards which we are working. The parties have already met multiple times. The EU is also making mediation efforts. There will be a meeting with one of the parties today. The next few weeks will be critical to test the willingness of the parties to move from wishing well to saying YES. We all know that the hardest part of negotiations is getting a YES. We are making serious efforts to achieve this. Since September, there have been 13 visits of high-ranking officials to Yerevan and Baku, as well as meetings between the parties. We are also deeply engaged with our Turkish partners.
We have clearly said that after September 19, nothing will be normal with Azerbaijan if we do not see progress on the path of peace. During this time, we have canceled several high-level visits, condemned the actions. However, a decision on whether to invoke Resolution 907 will be made after discussing progress.
Why are we talking about peace especially now and not years ago? First of all, it is the economic benefit of peace. Central Asian countries are looking for ways to export their goods to the West. They can pass through Azerbaijan, Georgia or Armenia to Turkey. We have said that any use of force is unacceptable. Any corridor should be created only with the agreement of Armenia, which will lead to a tremendous transit boom for countries across the region and global markets, as access to the specified goods will be ensured.
A transportation corridor that would be created otherwise, through the use of force or with Iran's participation, would be met with a strong reaction. It will not lead to success, that’s a simple choice. Another aspect is what kind of political relations these countries want to have in the future. I think a future built around relations with Russia and Iran will be unstable and undesirable for the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan. They have the opportunity today, and we're trying to clarify that now. I hope that in the near future we will have senior-level reactions about it.”
