Sargsyan's twaddle hurts international stability

By AzerNews

It would be so naive to expect Armenia to keep its word and follow its agreement of not escalating the situation in the frontline of the Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces during the Sochi Winter Olympic Games.

Armenian troops violated the ceasefire 40 times on February 7 and shoot dead an Azerbaijani serviceman, officer Eshgin Guliyev on February 7.

Earlier this week, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs issued a statement after a meeting with Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents over the recent escalation of violence on the line of contact and called on the sides to exercise restraint.

"The two sides stated their intention to strengthen observance of the ceasefire and avoid further escalation, particularly in light of the upcoming Olympic Games in Sochi," the statement read.

The 22nd Winter Olympic Games opens in Sochi on February 7 and will last till February 23.

Armenia continues to escalate the situation on the contact line, and shoots dead Azerbaijani serviceman despite Serzh Sargsyan's "intention" to avoid further escalation.

Yerevan holds a non-constructive position over the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which was broke out in 1988 as a result of Armenia's territorial claims on Azerbaijan.

The situation on the contact line of Armenian and Azerbaijani troops has escalated since early 2014. The ceasefire was violated over 2,000 times from January 21 until now. In all cases, the shooting was countered by return fire.

Armenia occupied and has taken under control over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.

The UN Security Council's four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal have not been enforced to this day.

Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the US and the OSCE Minsk Group are underway on the basis of a peaceful outline called Madrid Principle, which was proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs. The negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.

The opposition accuses Sargsyan of not being serious enough to keep his word. And now it seems that the Armenian president is far from valuing his word in regards to respecting the truce. The Armenian authorities remain loyal to non-constructive and aggressive position. Their stance largely harms the peaceful resolution of the conflict.