Interfax, Russia
Oct 18 2013
OSCE asks Baku, Yerevan to probe causes of Karabakh monitoring pause
YEREVAN. Oct 18
The cochairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group assisting in the Karabakh
conflict settlement and the personal representative of the OSCE
chairman-in-office have urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to look into the
Thursday incident that forced the OSCE monitors to suspend their
observation mission in the conflict zone.
"Following the usual exchange of security guarantees by local
commanders on both sides of the Line of Contact, members of both OSCE
teams heard shooting as they approached their observation points. It
was not possible to determine from where the shots were fired. Safety
and security concerns prompted the Personal Representative to abandon
the exercise," runs the joint statement by the OSCE Minsk Group
cochairmen and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office,
Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.
"They believe that this exceptional and regrettable incident
undermines the work of these individuals, and of the Personal
Representative and his team, as well as the ceasefire agreement of May
1994. The Co-Chairs urge the relevant authorities to investigate it
thoroughly and impartially," the statement said.
The OSCE monitoring mission along the contact line between the Azeri
and Armenian forces in the Karabakh conflict zone was cancelled on
October 17.
The Azeri Defense Ministry said that Armenia had breached the
ceasefire regime shortly before the monitoring began.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry of the unrecognized Karabakh Republic
said the monitoring was suspended because of automatic gunfire coming
from Azeri positions.
The ceasefire regime between Azerbaijan and Armenia was put in place
in May 1994. The OSCE, assisted by the personal representative of its
chairman-in-office, regularly carries out monitoring missions along
the frontline in order to collect information about the sides'
compliance with the ceasefire regime.
Te cm
From: A. Papazian
Oct 18 2013
OSCE asks Baku, Yerevan to probe causes of Karabakh monitoring pause
YEREVAN. Oct 18
The cochairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group assisting in the Karabakh
conflict settlement and the personal representative of the OSCE
chairman-in-office have urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to look into the
Thursday incident that forced the OSCE monitors to suspend their
observation mission in the conflict zone.
"Following the usual exchange of security guarantees by local
commanders on both sides of the Line of Contact, members of both OSCE
teams heard shooting as they approached their observation points. It
was not possible to determine from where the shots were fired. Safety
and security concerns prompted the Personal Representative to abandon
the exercise," runs the joint statement by the OSCE Minsk Group
cochairmen and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office,
Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.
"They believe that this exceptional and regrettable incident
undermines the work of these individuals, and of the Personal
Representative and his team, as well as the ceasefire agreement of May
1994. The Co-Chairs urge the relevant authorities to investigate it
thoroughly and impartially," the statement said.
The OSCE monitoring mission along the contact line between the Azeri
and Armenian forces in the Karabakh conflict zone was cancelled on
October 17.
The Azeri Defense Ministry said that Armenia had breached the
ceasefire regime shortly before the monitoring began.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry of the unrecognized Karabakh Republic
said the monitoring was suspended because of automatic gunfire coming
from Azeri positions.
The ceasefire regime between Azerbaijan and Armenia was put in place
in May 1994. The OSCE, assisted by the personal representative of its
chairman-in-office, regularly carries out monitoring missions along
the frontline in order to collect information about the sides'
compliance with the ceasefire regime.
Te cm
From: A. Papazian