Armenia welcomes OSCE Minsk Group initiative

Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan at panorama.am correspondent’s request commented upon the call of OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs to immediately hold a monitoring on the contact line of Armenia and Azerbaijan due to the latest incidents.

“We welcome this initiative of OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs.

Armenia and Karabakh have always positively responded to calls of the UN Secretary General, OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, OSCE Chairmen-in-Office on withdrawing snipers from the contact line that would prevent similar incidents and would be favorable for the process of settlement,” MFA quoted Tigran Balayan as saying.

Note that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs have issued a statement expressing concern over the violation of the ceasefire regime before and after the tripartite presidential meeting in Sochi on March 5.

In the statement, the Co-chairs asked Personal Representative of OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk to immediately hold an investigation together with the sides, as mentioned in the declaration issued at the tripartite presidential meeting.

“OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs are going to visit the region next week to call the sides for cooperation in conducting an investigation. The Co-chairs strongly condemn casualties and call the sides for restraint, respect of the ceasefire agreement of 1994 and urge them to carry out the commitments assumed in Astrakhan in 2010 and in Sochi on March 5, 2011,” the statement of the Co-chairs said.