Obama calls to maintain ceasefire along Azerbaijani-Karabakhi contact line

US President Barack Obama and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev discussed the Nagorno Karabakh issue in a meeting in New York, according to a White House statement.

The two presidents particularly stressed the necessity of finding earliest solution to the problem for ensuring peace and stability in the region.

Mr Obama reaffirmed strong US support for the OSCE Minsk Group process to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the ceasefire along the Line of Contact and stressing the need to find a peaceful solution based on the
Helsinki principles of non-use of force or threat of force, territorial integrity, and the equal rights and self-determination of peoples.
The leaders also discussed regional security issues and ongoing energy cooperation.

In the context of President Obama’s speech at the UN, he expressed his hope that Azerbaijan as a young democracy would implement democratic reforms and increase protections for human rights, including by releasing two jailed bloggers.

Mr Obama also noted that strong institutions contribute to fostering economic growth and stability in Azerbaijan and both leaders expressed a desire to develop closer ties between our two countries.