VIENNA, July 24. /TASS/. The Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to use the lull to get prepared for talks on ways to settle the conflict.
In their statement released on Friday, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs (Igor Popov of Russia, St·phane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States) and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (PRCIO) Andrzej Kasprzyk hailed the relative stability along the Azerbaijani-Armenian border that has been in place since July 16.
"The Co-Chairs appeal to the sides to take advantage of the current reduction in active hostilities to prepare for serious substantive negotiations to find a comprehensive solution to the conflict. The Co-Chairs stress once more that refraining from provocative statements and actions, including threats or perceived threats to civilians or to critical infrastructure, is essential during this delicate period," the statement reads.
"The Co-Chairs note that recent public statements criticizing the joint efforts of the co-chairing countries, and/or seeking unilaterally to establish new "conditions" or changes to the settlement process format are not conducive to resuming a constructive dialogue. The Co-Chairs reiterate that political will to achieve a lasting peaceful settlement is best demonstrated by refraining from maximalist positions, adhering strictly to the ceasefire, and abstaining from provocative statements and actions," the document says.
The co-chairs also hailed stronger international consensus "calling for de-escalation and a swift return to negotiations in good faith without conditions."
The Minsk Group reiterated that the principles and elements committed to paper in the co-chairs’ statement of March 9, 2019 continue to be the basis of their mediation efforts. "The Co-Chairs are prepared to meet with the leaders or their designees at any time. The Co-Chairs also emphasize that OSCE monitors should return to the region as soon as possible," the co-chairs stressed.
OSCE Minsk Group mediation efforts
The OSCE Minsk Group is mediating the settlement of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. The co-chairs and the personal representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office maintain contacts with the representatives of the conflicting parties.
In mid-July, the OSCE Minsk Group called for the redeployment of OSCE monitors to the conflict area as soon as such a possibility emerged. The OSCE monitors were tasked to monitor the observance of the ceasefire reached by Baku and Yerevan in 1994. These missions were suspended in April 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Conflict escalation
The situation on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border escalated on July 12, when Azerbaijan said that the Armenian army had tried to attack Azerbaijan’s positions with use of artillery systems. Armenia, in turn, said the situation on the border had aggravated after Azerbaijan’s attempted attack. Baku has reported the death of twelve servicemen. Yerevan said four Armenian soldiers had been killed and ten more were wounded.
The situation on the border has been relatively calm since July 17, according to the sides. However, earlier on Friday Azerbaijan’s defense ministry reported 45 shelling attacks on its positions near the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh and on the border with Armenia.
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them. Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been ongoing since 1992 under the OSCE Minsk Group, led by its three co-chairs - Russia, France and the United States.