Despite a deadly spike in the confrontation over Nagorno-Karabakh and limited progress overall, we persist in striving towards peaceful and durable settlement to the conflicts, OSCE said in a report summing up the 2016 activities.
OSCE seeks to promote a peaceful and durable settlement to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
STEPANAKERT, APRIL 12, ARTSAKHPRESS: The report says the renewed escalation of violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in spring 2016 necessitated intensified crisis management. The German Chairmanship invested considerable efforts in addressing these and other conflicts with the aim of strengthening OSCE formats for conflict resolution and improving the living conditions of people affected by these conflicts.
“With regard to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Chairmanship reacted swiftly after the escalation of hostilities at the line of contact in April 2016, initiating a special meeting of the Permanent Council (PC) and advocating the implementation of agreements reached at the presidential level in Vienna and St. Petersburg concerning the expansion of the Office of the Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, and the establishment of an investigative mechanism. The Chairmanship called for the resumption of a political negotiation process to settle the conflict. The Chairperson also called a special meeting following the escalation of violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone,” the report reads.
The OSCE indicates that with the support of the sides, the Personal Representative and his team conducted 22 monitoring exercises, five on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and 17 on the line of contact.
Working in support of the Chairperson-in-Office and co-chairs in negotiating a peaceful settlement, the Office of the Personal Representative supported the Chairpersonin-Office’s visit to the South Caucasus in June and two visits by the MG co-chairs to the region in April and October. The Personal Representative also supported the co-chairs in a series of separate meetings with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in February, May, June and September, as well as joint meetings in July and December, and helped them prepare for the meetings of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in May and June. Together with the co-chairs, he participated in briefings with ministers of foreign affairs and senior diplomats in Washington, Berlin, Moscow and Vienna, as well as regular briefings for the MG and the Chairperson-in-Office.
Armenia’s contribution to OSCE made 45,408 euros.
