FM slams Baku’s destructive stance at OSCE Council meeting

PanARMENIAN.Net - Baku's ceasefire violations have reached alarming levels. Unfortunately, peace still faces challenges by those who refuse to abide to the common norms and principles, Armenia’s Foreign Minister said.

As Edward Nalbandian stated in his remarks delivered remarks at the 22nd Meeting of the ‪OSCE Ministerial Council in Belgrade, “2015 marks the centennial of the Armenian ‎Genocide which has rallied a worldwide support, sympathy and condemnation of this heinous crime. Today, we cannot remain indifferent to the recurrence of such crimes by ISIS/Daesh, Al-Nusra, other terrorist groups and foreign terrorist fighters.

Armenia values unambiguous implementation and reinforcement of OSCE commitments to combat terrorism. We encourage further efforts aimed at the protection of ethnic and religious minorities, including Christians whose fundamental rights and cultural heritage have been targeted. It is also important to adequately address the ongoing migrant crisis: Armenia is not a bystander in this regard and has already received over 17.000 refugees from ‪Syria.”

“Unfortunately, peace still faces challenges. For over two decades, Azerbaijan refuses to recognize the Nagorno Karabakh people's right to self-determination. Baku fails to understand that determination of the final legal status of Nagorno ‪Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will stands at the core of the settlement, proposed by the Co-chairs.

It is not surprising that the Co-chairs directly called upon Azerbaijan to observe its commitments to the peaceful resolution of the conflict and agree to the proposal to create a mechanism to investigate border incidents, which Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh have long accepted. The Co-chairs have also stated that Baku’s attempts to change the format or create parallel mechanisms can disrupt the negotiation process and impede progress towards a settlement. They called on Azerbaijan to respect their mandate and the duties of the OSCE monitors.

Azerbaijan's attempts to blame the Co-chairs for setbacks in the negotiation process only mask the primary obstacle to peace – the lack of political will in Azerbaijan to reach a negotiated settlement.

Armenia, unlike Azerbaijan, has repeatedly expressed readiness to continue negotiations, based on proposals by the Presidents of the Co-chairing countries.

The OSCE can contribute to the peace process by reaffirming its support to the ceasefire agreements encouraging implementation of confidence and security-building measures, confirming the office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office on Nagorno Karabakh as the only permanent presence on the ground in the conflict zone, increasing the number of monitors, allocating more resources and technical means,” the official said.

“Baku is attempting to distract the world's attention from the outrageous human rights situation in Azerbaijan and the consequent growing international criticism by escalating the situation in the conflict zone. We are confident that the international reaction to Baku’s policy of escalation should not be less concrete and strict as it is on the human rights situation in Azerbaijan.

Baku’s consistent policy of reducing OSCE presence in the region is another disturbing trend that cannot be ignored. Having first downgraded and then closed the OSCE Office in Baku, imposing restrictions on ODIHR election monitoring mission, Azerbaijan is now trying to curtail activities of the Personal Representative as well. Apparently, Azerbaijan would prefer to continue its destructive policy without international witnesses,” Nalbandian noted.

“Finally, I would like to brief you on the Constitutional referendum that will take place in Armenia in a couple of days. The reform process is based on Armenia’s commitment to develop democratic institutions, protect and promote human rights, strengthen the rule of law, enhance independence of judiciary. The Venice Commission confirmed the draft to be in line with international standards.

The ever evolving security environment makes it even more important to have a unifying agenda of cooperation at the OSCE. We welcome the German Chairmanship, pledging to join efforts to enhance the viability of this Organization and its capacity to strengthen the safety and security in the OSCE region,” the official concluded.