“I am very honored to have been selected to serve as the U.S. Minsk Group co-chair, and look forward to visiting the region in the near future to meet with officials on all sides,” he added.
Schofer said he also looks forward to participating in meetings with his fellow Minsk Group co-chairs and senior officials from the region in New York this week.
“The other co-chairs and I are hopeful that the presidents will agree to meet again soon, and that we will be able to continue to focus on good faith negotiations aimed at moving the peace process forward,” added the US co-chair.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
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