U.S. State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said at a press briefing in Washington referred in her daily press briefing to the 1992 Khojaly massacre and the February 18, 2013 presidential election in Armenia.
During the briefing, Ms. Victoria Nuland answered a question by Samin Josmangizet from Azerbaijan's ANS Television.
QUESTION: On a separate issue, the anniversary of massacre of civilians in the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly is coming up. Any plans to honor the victims?
And also, the U.S. is very committed to successfully complete the petition on the White House web page calling again to honor the victims and recognize them as a genocide. What's going to be the Administration's response on that?
MS. NULAND: Well, with regard to White House issues, I will send you to the White House. Let me simply say that the tragic loss of life in the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan reminds us that there cannot be a military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Only a lasting and peaceful settlement can bring about stability, prosperity, and reconciliation in the region. As co-chairs of the Minsk Group, we remain firmly committed to working with the sides towards that, and we remember that today of all days.
QUESTION: Do you have any new information about the fairness and transparency of Armenian presidential elections? You have mentioned some serious violations that need to be investigated in your previous statements. Do you have any new information since you have made those statements?
MS. NULAND: No. I spoke about that here on Monday[2], both what went well and what still needs to be done in terms of the situation in Armenia. And as a general matter, we - as you know, in line with what OSCE ODIHR had to say, we commended the people of Armenia on successful elections that were well administered, generally. But there are, as there are in many countries, additional things that can be worked on going forward. But I don't have any update on the long statement that we issued yesterday.
