Armenia slams Azeri move to unilaterally denounce a 1994 ceasefire

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia strongly condemned Azerbaijan’s move to unilaterally denounce a 1994 ceasefire agreement, signed by ‪Azerbaijan‬, Nagorno Karabakh‬ and ‪Armenia‬ with no time limitations.

At a ‪UN‬ General Assembly and Security Council on Monday, April 25, Azerbaijan disseminated yet another provocative letter, dated April 14, 2016, and, striving to put the blame on Armenia, unilaterally denounced the trilateral ceasefire agreeemnt.

“Armenia strongly condemns this step whereby Azerbaijan grossly breaches May 1994 ceasefire agreement, as well as casts doubt on the July 1994 agreement on the reinforcement of ceasefire and the February 1995 agreement on the consolidation of ceasefire, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Notably, the July 1994 agreement requires Azerbaijan to “maintain the ceasefire until signing of the big political agreement.”

In this regard the ‪OSCE‬ Minsk Group Co-chairs have already expressed their position to Azerbaijan, stating, in particular, that 1994 and 1995 agreements, whose terms do not expire, make up the foundation of the recent cessation of hostilities in the conflict zone. The Co-chairs called on Azerbaijan to strictly adhere to the abovementioned agreements and not to permit their violation.

“It is necessary to underline that the verbal arrangement reached in Moscow on April 5, 2016, to which Azerbaijan refers in its letter, was aimed at the cessation of aggressive actions unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno Karabakh and, as the Co-chairs stated, to restore the ceasefire. It is obvious that the abovementioned verbal arrangement cannot replace the May 12, 1994 ceasefire agreement,” the Ministry further noted.

“The 1994 and 1995 trilateral ceasefire agreements have for years served as a basis for preserving the ceasefire. Any harm to these agreements poses a serious obstacle for the peace process, hinders the efforts of the Co-chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman in Office and undermines regional security.”

“Armenia urges the co-chairing countries and the international community to immediately undertake all necessary measures to oblige Azerbaijan to strictly abide by the 1994 ceasefire agreement and to implement its international commitments to refrain from the threat or use of force,” the Ministry added.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia states that, taking into consideration possible dangerous consequences stemming from this irresponsible step of Azerbaijan, and as a signatory party to 1994 and 1995 agreements on the ceasefire and the consolidation of the ceasefire, Armenia will exert every possible effort and carry out all necessary steps to guarantee the security of Nagorno Karabakh and its population.”