Azernews.Az

By Rashid Shirinov

The OSCE Minsk Group is working constantly to stabilize the situation over the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Personal Representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk made the remark in his statement posted on the OSCE website on October 5.

In the six months following the April clashes, the Minsk Group Co-chairs have worked tirelessly to stabilize the situation and move the negotiation process forward, and the information provided through the monitoring exercises is an indispensable part of this process, Kasprzyk said, adding that these efforts continue.

“As usual, the sides provided information regarding the situation on the line of contact, including ceasefire violations registered since the previous monitoring exercise. This information has been reported to the Minsk Group members, including its co-chairs, and the OSCE chairperson-in-office,” said Kasprzyk, adding that the monitoring group always registers ceasefire violations when they occur in its presence. “Otherwise, we rely on information provided by local commanders.”

The last monitoring on the contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops near the Gulustan village of Goranboy region was held on October 5. The monitoring passed without incidents, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defense stated.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign State with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.

Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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