Details added (first version posted on 19:50)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 5
Trend:
Personal representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk has said the OSCE Minsk Group is working tirelessly to stabilize situation over the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“In the six months following the April clashes, the Minsk Group co-chairs have worked tirelessly to stabilize the situation and move the negotiation process forward, and the information provided through the monitoring exercises is an indispensable part of this process. These efforts continue,” Kasprzyk said in his statement posted on the OSCE website Oct. 5.
“As usual, the sides provided information regarding the situation on the line of contact, including ceasefire violations registered since the previous monitoring exercise. This information has been reported to the Minsk Group members, including its co-chairs, and the OSCE chairperson-in-office,” said Kasprzyk.
“We always register ceasefire violations when they occur in our presence,” he added. “Otherwise we rely on information provided by local commanders.”
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.