Washington: OSCE Minsk Group not functioning, but US ready to work with Baku, Yerevan

US State Department Spokesman Ned Price has said that the US is ready to work with Baku and Yerevan although the OSCE Minsk Group is not functioning.

He made the statement at a regular briefing on January 25 in response to a question about the current status of US chairmanship in the OSCE Minsk Group, Caliber.Az reports, citing the official website of the State Department.

"The Minsk Group has not been a functioning body for some time, but we are prepared to work to resolve this conflict bilaterally, multilaterally through the OSCE, with partners, with the parties themselves," he said.

Price was also asked whether the US is going to take any steps regarding the European mission and whether America considers itself a co-chair of the Minsk Group.

"You answered your own question by mentioning that our European partners are conducting monitoring missions; they are present on the ground. Of course, as you know, when it comes to tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan in general, we cooperate very closely with our European partners. We share information with them. The Europeans, in turn, do the same. It is important to continue working in close cooperation with European partners, through the OSCE when necessary and directly with the parties if and when it is effective. We have done all this and will continue to do what we consider most useful to achieve lasting peace and reduce tensions.

"You yourself refer to the fact that our European partners do have monitoring missions [in Armenia]; they have a presence on the ground. Of course, as you know, we work remarkably closely with our European partners... when it comes to tensions and conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan more broadly. So we share our information with our European partners. The same is true of them to us. And we believe it’s important that we continue to work closely together with our European partners, through the OSCE as appropriate, directly with the parties if and when it’s effective. We’ve done all of those things and we’ll continue to do what we think is effective to bring about a lasting peace and a diminution of the tensions," he said.