OSCE Minsk Group working with Baku, Yerevan on political settlement of Karabakh conflict
By Ayya Lmahamad
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs that are mediating the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, have issued a statement over the escalation of the tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia, namely Armenia’s continuous missile attacks on Azerbaijani civilians.
In a statement released on October 13, Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France and Andrew Schofer of the U.S. stated that they are working with the parties on substantive issues of the political settlement process of Nagorno-Karabakh to achieve a negotiated solution.
"The Co-Chairs note with alarm the continuing violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Co-Chairs call on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to take immediate steps to execute in full the obligations of the sides according to the October 10 Moscow statement, in order to prevent catastrophic consequences for the region," the statement reads.
Moreover, the Co-Chairs reiterate that civilian casualties are unacceptable under any circumstances.
"The Co-Chairs call on the sides to implement the humanitarian ceasefire immediately to allow the return of remains, prisoners of war, and detainees, and appeal to the sides to agree urgently upon a ceasefire verification mechanism," the statement reads.
Armenian armed forces launched a large-scale operation in the front-line zone on September 27 at 6 am, shelling the positions of the Azerbaijani army from large-calibre weapons, mortars, and artillery installations of various calibres. Armenia has been targeting Azerbaijan’s densely populated areas and infrastructure projects.
Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Group’s efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date, Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad
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