Azernews.Az

By Rashid Shirinov

The OSCE will continue the joint active work to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a joint press conference with his Italian counterpart, OSCE Chairman-in-Office Angelino Alfano in Moscow on February 1.

The Russian FM spoke about the possibility of an increase in the number of OSCE observers on the contact line between the Armenian and Azerbaijani troops. He reminded that after the events on the contact line in April 2016, a meeting was held between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in Vienna with the participation of foreign ministers of the OSCE co-chairing countries. Then, a trilateral meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia was held with the participation of the co-chairs in St. Petersburg in June 2016.

“During that meeting, an agreement was reached to build confidence, add a few people – 6-7 as additional OSCE observers on the line of contact. Since then, this work has been conducted,” Lavrov noted. “In my opinion, presently, the sides are close to coordinate specific parameters for the implementation of this agreement. We hope that the OSCE will be able to implement it rapidly.”

The increase in the number of OSCE observers was also discussed at the last meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. The sides agreed in principle to the co-chairs’ revised concept paper for implementing the expansion with a view toward finalizing it as soon as possible.

The Russian FM stressed that any process for resolving any conflict must include parallel movement, synchronized comprehensive movement that would also include steps to strengthen security and steps for the political settlement.

“I hope that what the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers agreed on and what was actively supported by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs will be implemented,” Lavrov added.

Alfano, in turn, said that an increase in the number of OSCE observers on the contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops will speed up the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“We think that any form of organizational support will be extremely useful to achieve the set goals,” he said. “We think that the issue is a rather important and positive step. This is one of the phenomena that will be visible and significant support for speeding up the settlement process.”

Alfano added that the Italian OSCE Chairmanship supports the work of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and rightly continues the policy of the previous OSCE chairing country.

The Chairman-in-Office said that the OSCE intends to contribute to the creating conditions to resolve protracted conflicts.

Armed conflicts in the OSCE area, such as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, conflicts in Georgia, Ukraine and Transnistria, have caused much suffering, displacement and destruction. All these conflicts must be solved through political means rather than by military force.

As for the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenia still shows its reluctance to engage in serious talks to resolve the issue. The countries fought a lengthy war that ended with 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.

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

---

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

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz