Calm restored along Azerbaijan, Armenia borders after Sochi Summit
By Aynur Jafarova
The tensions on the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops have relieved significantly after summit of Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian presidents in Sochi.
This remark was made by OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Personal Representative, Andrzej Kasprzyk on September 4.
The situation on the contact line of troops was very tense in early August.
"Intrusions, casualties and targeting of villages and civilians were reported. The OSCE chairperson-in-office, the co-chairs of the Minsk Group and representatives of other countries and international organizations called on two sides to strictly observe the ceasefire," Kasprzyk said in an interview with Trend Agency.
The Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents met at a trilateral meeting on the Nagorno-Karabakh attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on August 10.
"After the summit, the situation got stabilized and according to reports that I have received, it has calmed down significantly. This is very positive and I hope that it will continue this way," he stressed.
Kasprzyk also noted the ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia is in force through an agreement reached between the parties and its observance depends on the parties' will.
"Ultimately it is their responsibility to ensure that their troops do not violate the ceasefire," he stressed.
Kasprzyk expressed his readiness to assist in any way possible to build confidence, adding that he works continuously to present ideas in accordance with his mandate.
"I offer the chance for local commanders to talk directly to each other using OSCE radios during monitoring exercises, and support any measures that the parties might consider useful to lower the number of incidents on the line of contact and the border," he said.
Kasprzyk also said he pays a lot of attention to protection of civilian population in areas close to the front lines, visiting the villages and getting acquainted with their situation.
"I also try to support activities of the commissions on prisoners of war and missing persons as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross on the releases of detainees and repatriation of bodies," Kasprzyk stressed. "Generally, I try to develop and implement confidence-building measures that can alleviate the situation and are conducive to progress in the peace negotiations that are conducted by the co-chairs."
Kasprzyk also highly appreciated his meeting with Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov, which took place last month.
"Personally, I value very much the opportunity to exchange views with the defense minister. In line with my mandate, the discussion concentrated on the situation regarding ceasefire, monitoring and some humanitarian aspects, such as detainees and return of bodies," he noted.
The Armenian armed forces have intensified ceasefire violations on the contact line between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops since the beginning of 2014. As a result of ceasefire breaches, several Azerbaijani soldiers were shot dead.
Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.
Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994, but Armenia has continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for their immediate and unconditional withdrawal.
Peace talks mediated by Russia, France, and the U.S. have produced no results so far.