Pompeo welcomes Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire, urges for political solution

© Reuters/POOLFILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo puts on a mask before boarding a plane at Istanbul Airport in Istanbul

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday said the United States welcomed the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, but urged the warring sides, Armenia and Azerbaijan, to move ahead in pursuing a lasting political solution to the conflict.

The ceasefire signed by leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on Nov. 10 halted military action in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but populated by ethnic Armenians. Some 2,000 Russian peacekeeping troops are being deployed to the region.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; editing by Jonathan Oatis)