OSCE MG appeal for presidential meeting

/By Azernews/

By Gulgiz Dadashova

As the tensions on the frontline of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops strain the limits, the OSCE Minsk Group tasked with brokering a peace between the conflict sides has voiced a necessity of a presidential meeting.

In a joint statement issued on May 12, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group said “in light of the recent violence and the urgency of reducing tensions along the Line of Contact, we believe the time has come for the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to meet.”

Noting that there can be no success in negotiations if violence continues, and there can be no peace without a negotiation process, Ambassadors Igor Popov, James Warlick and Pierre Andrieu named Vienna as the venue for the long-awaited talks.

“Our foreign ministers are prepared to facilitate this meeting next week in Vienna. Their main objectives will be to reinforce the ceasefire regime, and to seek agreement on confidence-building measures that would create favorable conditions for resuming negotiations on a comprehensive settlement on the basis of elements and principles under discussion,” the statement reads.

Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan last met in December 2015 in Bern to mull the long-lasting Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which emerged due to Armenia’s illegal territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

Holding such a meeting was then regarded as a positive sign for the resolution of the conflict as the presidents did not meet for over a year. But, the Armenian side once again was able to smash hopes for peace staging provocations on the frontline.

Though the Bern meeting was expected to hush the intensive ceasefire breaches on the contact line, the situation indeed has worsened even more. Azerbaijan’s positions come under intensive fire of the Armenian armed forces on a daily basis.

Azerbaijan and Armenia called a truce exactly 22 years ago, on May 12 1994, to end the devastating war, but violence has flared up from time to time, most recently along the frontline of the troops. The Armenian troops most recently resorted to the aggression and provoked a deadly exchange of artillery fire in early April.

The mediating group and mainly Russia have pushed for a resumption of the peace talks as a vehicle for dialogue. However, the war rhetoric rose up following Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s refusal to sit at the negations table, despite Baku’s repeated call for peace.

The Azerbaijani authorities have voiced commitment to continue the talks, emphasizing that the status quo cannot be kept and the Armenian occupation troops must leave the Azerbaijani lands.

Experts and politicians agree that keeping the status quo raises fears for anew of all-out war, which can spread to larger area than its region.

The current situation remains highly complicated and sensitive, they say. There's still enormous tension, enormous mistrust between the parties and diplomacy is what is needed to get us out of this tinderbox.

Will Yerevan show constructive position in talks – that is what concerns Baku.