Mediators express regret over national soldier’s death amidst negotiations
By Abdul Kerimkhanov
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have expressed regret over the killing of the Azerbaijani soldier ahead of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers’ meeting on 23 September.
A serviceman of the Azerbaijani army was shot dead by Armenian forces on the line of contact between the troops on 22 September, a day before the two countries’ foreign ministers met to discuss Karabakh conflict in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly.
In the statement published on the OSCE’s official website, the co-chairs said that they met separately and jointly with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan in which “they continued their discussion of additional measures to reduce tensions and sustain an atmosphere conducive to peace and favorable to substantive talks.”
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs also called on the sides to “minimize the use of rhetoric that is inflammatory or prejudges the outcome of negotiations.”
The co-chairs’ suggestion must be understood in the context of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s absurd statement made in August in which he called for the unification of Karabakh with Armenia. This was the first time that the mediating group was reacting to a series of controversial and belligerent statements made by the Armenian authorities in recent months.
Earlier, in March, Armenian Defence Minister David Tonoyan threatened to occupy more Azerbaijani territories in case war broke out. It’s worth mentioning that Armenia stepped up belligerent rhetoric against Azerbaijan after Nikol Pashinyan took office.
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by Igor Popov of Russia, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the U.S. has been negotiating the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict since 1992.
The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh region began in February 1988 upon Armenia's territorial claims to Azerbaijan. The authorities of Azerbaijan lost control over the Nagorno-Karabakh during the subsequent military conflict.
Since 1992, negotiations have been underway for a peaceful settlement of the conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group. In 1993, the UN Security Council adopted four resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. However, due to the unconstructiveness of Armenia, they still remain on paper.
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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94
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