As Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, the United States and Russia coordinate closely on efforts to resolve the Karabakh conflict, said Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon.

Philip Gordon delivered a speech during the debates on rule of law in Russia held by the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.

He stressed that Russia remains an important partner “in the Quartet, which is working to implement the vision for Middle East peace outlined by President Obama in his May 2011 remarks.”

“As Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, the United States and Russia coordinate closely, along with France, on efforts to achieve a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh,” Gordon said.

He also spoke about the situation in Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia stressing that U.S.  strongly supports Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“We have repeatedly urged Moscow to provide transparency regarding Russian militarization of the occupied regions and re-establish an international monitoring presence in Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” he added.