Vedant Patel, the deputy spokesperson of the US State Department, stated that the US insists on sending a long-term international monitoring mission to Nagorno-Karabakh.
He noted the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations: “The United States intends to continue to play a role in engaging with the leadership of Azerbaijan and Armenia at the highest level to achieve a dignified and lasting peace.”
He repeated the call to send a long-term, independent, international observation mission to Nagorno-Karabakh to “ensure transparency and assurance that the rights and immunity of ethnic Armenians will be protected, especially for those who might want to return,” he said, reminding that Azerbaijan has publicly announced that it will comply with international obligations.
He also referred to the report of the UN observer mission, according to which civilian objects in Nagorno-Karabakh were not damaged due to Azerbaijani military operations, “We appreciate these comments from the UN representative. But this does not change the point of view of the United States in this matter. Even in light of the UN visit, there is a strong desire and need for a longer-term independent international monitoring mission in Nagorno-Karabakh. We believe it will provide transparency. We believe it will provide proper safeguards for various rights and securities, which we are still deeply concerned about.”
He referred to the ratification of the Rome Statute in the RA National Assembly and the reaction of the Russian Federation to the incident. “We respect the sovereignty and independence of Armenia, and, of course, we reserve the right for the Armenian government to comment on its legislative processes. We respect the right of every country to join the ICC, and we are encouraged by many states, including Armenia, which have committed to support justice, bring responsibility for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity,” he said.
