Former U.S. Co-Chair James Warlick: U.S. Ambassador's Statement on Nagorno-Karabakh Was Premature

The former American co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, James Warlick, believes that the statement made by the U.S. Ambassador in Armenia regarding the possibility of ensuring the security of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan was premature. During an appearance on the NEWS.am program 'POWER FACTOR', the retired diplomat emphasized that the people of Nagorno-Karabakh need to be provided with guarantees of safety and protection of their rights first.

‘I am not familiar with the full context of the U.S. Ambassador's remarks. I think it is still premature to make such statements. The people of Nagorno-Karabakh must be provided with security guarantees and, undoubtedly, there should be no talk of ethnic cleansing. This issue must be resolved at the highest level – President Aliyev must provide guarantees that there will be no ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, and that he will respect the rights of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and is ready to offer a special status to the people of Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan,’ emphasized the former U.S. co-chair of the Minsk Group, adding that all of this still needs to become a reality.

According to Warlick, various other issues that are part of the resolution, such as the unblocking of communication and transportation routes, also need guarantees, and the people of Nagorno-Karabakh must fully accept the reality that their rights will be protected in the future.