"I acknowledge that it is a deep pain in Azerbaijan as many people still suffer from that. I want to express my condolence to their families. Many people I know in Azerbaijanis still dealing with the trauma of the Janury 20 tragedy," said the former Ambassador of the United States of America to Azerbaijan Matthew James Bryza in his interview to EDNews for the 32nd anniversary of the Bloody January events.

The diplomat, who served in Azerbaijan, shared his views on the political situation during the collapse of the Soviet regime, as well as the West's views on what happened in Azerbaijan during that period.

In his interview the former US Ambassador has also touched upon the emerging tensions at the end of the Soviet empire: "One important thing that I would like to underscore is the situation in Azerbaijan during the collapse of the USSR. On the one hand it was good that all countries separated and declared their self independence, on the other hand it was worse for Karabakh as it was being taken out from Azerbaijan. I think it was engineered and managed by nationalists among Armenians, who wanted to make a career and a name for themselves."

Please watch the video for the full interview