The European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD), a non-governmental organization representing European citizens of Armenian descent to European institutions, has sent a letter of protest to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) asking that the co-chairs objectively point to Azerbaijan as the side that continues to violate the ceasefire agreement with Armenia and that blocks a constructive peace process, Asbarez reports.

The Armenian communities in Europe are deeply concerned about the recent escalation of tension on the contact line between Armenia and Azerbaijan and around Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, perpetrated by the government of Azerbaijan. As you know, the ceasefire violations initiated by Azerbaijan became particularly intense on the eve and during your meetings with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in New York on 24 – 25 September of the current year. The goal of the Azerbaijani government was clear – to put pressure on the Armenian side and harm the negotiation process,” the letter reads.

The Federation regrets the fact that on September 27 official Azerbaijan dismissed the proposal made by the OSCE Minsk Group to accept an OSCE mechanism to investigate ceasefire violations. According to the letter, Armenia agreed to discuss the details of the mechanism which would enable to identify the initiator of the cease-fire violation and make it difficult for the sides to blame each other for initiating deadly attacks.

“It is evident that the current Government of Azerbaijan with is maximalist and zero-sum-game approach towards the conflict is not interested in a genuine peace process. How can one otherwise explain the constant hate-filled war-rhetoric and bragging of the regime of Ilham Aliyev over the country’s rocketing military budget?” the Federation writes.

EAFJD is convinced that making generic announcements or putting a sign of equation between Armenia and Azerbaijan when addressing the two sides and calling them to stop violating the cease-fire, distorts the reality, creates false public opinion and in fact encourages the Aliyev regime in the dangerous game it is playing also at the expense of the lives of its own citizens. It is evident, according to the Federation, that if a new war unleashes under the current circumstances it will be the responsibility of the current Azerbaijani Government.

EAFJD calls on the Co-chairs to objectively point at the side that violates the cease-fire or blocks a constructive peace process as well as confidence-building measures. Anything other than this would mean bearing a co-responsibility if a new war unleashes in Nagorno-Karabakh with its unpredictable and highly dangerous consequences for the whole region, including Azerbaijan.