The U.S. takes allegations of ethnic cleansing, genocide, or
other atrocities seriously. We are in touch with contacts on the ground
about the situation. Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Matthew
Miller said this.
“We won’t shy from taking appropriate actions to respond to
allegations of atrocities and promote accountability for those responsible for
atrocities when we see evidence that they’ve taken place. But as always, a
determination regarding genocide or ethnic cleansing is based on a deliberate,
evidence-based process,” Miller said.
He noted that around a hundred thousand, ethnic Armenians
have departed Artsakh for Armenia.
“Now, we don’t know – I don’t think any of us can say
whether – what percentage of those plan to remain in Armenia permanently, what
percentage of them may want to come back, if the conditions allowed, if they
felt sufficient assurances about their treatment if they would return, which is
why we are reiterating our call for an independent international monitoring
mission that would provide transparency and reassurance to the population of
Nagorno-Karabakh that the rights and securities of ethnic Armenians would be
protected, particularly for any of those that wish to return. Azerbaijan
has made those assurances. We think there ought to be an international
monitoring mission there to observe and guarantee them,” he said.
As Miller noted, they welcome that mission and continue to
work with their allies and partners about what a more long-term mission ought
to look like. When asked if there is any room left for peace agreement, the
spokesperson for the State Department said that there are other issues beyond
the status of Nagorno-Karabakh that are at dispute between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, and the U.S. would encourage them to return to peace talks to
discuss and ultimately come to resolution on those issues.
