Attempts by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to hold separate meetings with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia have failed.
The US State Department said in a statement that Mike Pompeo had met with Armenian Foreign Minister Zahrab M. Netskin and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jivan Berramov, emphasizing the need for both sides to end violence and protect the lives of innocent civilians. But no final agreement has been reached in this regard.
State Department spokesman Morgan Ortegas said Mike Pompeo urged both countries to refrain from using force in accordance with the principles set out in the Helsinki Final Act under the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Should He called on the two countries to send their troops back to the barracks, recognizing each other's geographical boundaries, equal rights and the right to self-defense.
The OSCE Minsk Group, comprising France, the United States and Russia, was formed in 1992 to resolve the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The US Secretary of State has said that in a meeting with the foreign ministers of the two countries, the United States has called for halting efforts to resolve the Nikorno Karabakh conflict through war. The United States wants the two countries to resolve the dispute through negotiations following a practical ceasefire agreement.
Responding to a question, Mike Pompeo said it was difficult to reach a ceasefire agreement on US intervention because of the complexity of the situation on the battlefield and at the diplomatic level.
Russia, France and the United States attended the talks in Washington, but no agreement has yet been reached between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Azerbaijan maintains that the Minsk group, which includes the United States, France and Russia, has failed to resolve the dispute for 30 years.
