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AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Sept 5 2014
Calm restored along Azerbaijan, Armenia borders after Sochi Summit
5 September 2014, 12:38 (GMT+05:00)
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.
Sept 5 2014
Calm restored along Azerbaijan, Armenia borders after Sochi Summit
5 September 2014, 12:38 (GMT+05:00)
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.