If the sides really wants to have a stable situation and to find offenders of shooting, it will be better to establish a definite cooperation to clarify reasons of shooting, OSCE Chairman-in-Office Special Envoy on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Anjey Kasprshik said in his interview with "Voice of Armenia" newspaper while commenting on ceasefire violations on the Armenian-Azerbaijani contact line, ArmInfo reported.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
"I would be satisfied, if there is no shooting on front lines. But there is always a shooting on front lines, according to both defense ministries and results of our monitoring. It is a too bad fact that the both sides have injured and killed soldiers as a result of shooting. We are seeking to do our best to prevent such cases to happen very frequent and turn into a more serious case," the special envoy said.
Kasprshik reminded that his mandate is limited and he acts as means of trust. Changing mandate requires not only agreements of both conflict sides, but also all OSCE-members. While answering a question whether all ceasefire violations correspond to reality, Kasprshik said that at present both ministries report about all violations without considering its reasons.
However, it does not mean that all of these cases are serious. Sometimes such a situation occurs that a soldier hears some voice at the point or is afraid of something and shoots. Or pointsman just wants to prove his vigilance and bravery and sometimes they warn through shooting that one must not come nearer, as there is a point. And when response shooting took place, media receives a report on shooting. I want to say that reasons may be different and not always connected with one side's intention to shoot at another. The most dangerous is a deliberate shooting toward a concrete person," Kasprshik said.
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