November 9, 2004 - 19:41 AMT
US SHOULD URGE UN GA TO RETRACT DISCUSSION OF KARABAKH ISSUE, CONGRESSIONAL ARMENIAN CAUCUS CONSIDERS
Congressional Armenian Caucus on Armenian Issues Co-Chairs Joe Knollenberg and Frank Pallone, in a joint letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell, said the United States should renounce and secure the retraction of a UN General Assembly resolution introduced last week by Baku, the Armenian Assembly of America reported. Such move can only derail the peace process spearheaded by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, France and Russia, the letter says. It also mentions that "US interests in the Caucasus are best served by the continuation of dialogue on the outstanding issues related to Nagorno Karabakh within the OSCE framework, not by fragmentation of this orderly process." To note, the Armenian Assembly this week commended Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues for urging the Bush Administration to prevent Azerbaijan from manipulating the Nagorno Karabakh peace process though "disruptive"
actions at the United Nations.