WASHINGTON, DC — There has never been or can ever be a military solution to the Nagorno Karabakh issue, US Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Eric Rubin stated at the Brookings Institution. He said the attention of the United States is centered on the fair, peaceful, lasting solution to the Karabakh conflict acceptable to all parties, the Voice of America reports.
“There is no better solution. All others are so terrible that are not even worth considering,” Rubin said, speaking at the panel to discuss a new report, “Retracing the Caucasian Circle,” co-authored by Fiona Hill, Kemal Kirisci, and Andrew Moffatt.
The State Department representative emphasized that “it’s time for the parties to reiterate their willingness and commitment to achieving progress.”
“This is not easy, and the parties have to make a certain choice to reach a solution. It’s hard for both parties, and that’s why we’ve not reached a settlement by now,” Eric Rubin said.
He added that the “US, along with other co-chairing countries, is ready to do its utmost for the establishment of lasting peace.” He stressed that the parties should refrain from violence.
“We think it’s extremely important for the parties to refrain from aggravating the situation; avoiding incidents is a key issue,” Mr. Rubin stated.
1 comment
Without putting it into words, Rubin is warning against resorting to force. Since, by far, Azerbaijan is the warring party that is making the bigger investments in armaments and certainly the party which keeps threatening Armenia and Artsakh, Rubin must be cautioning Baku rather than Yerevan. A few years ago, the Azeri annual war budget was bigger than the Armenian government’s total budget. Rubin should direct his words to Baku rather than to both.