Karabakh Office in US condemns the sniper killing of Armenian soldier

In a statement issued today the Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in US has condemned recent the killing of an Armenian soldier by an Azerbaijani sniper.

"On October 26, 2010, another soldier of the NKR Defense Army was shot dead by Azerbaijan's sniper fire in Artsakh.

"Azerbaijan continues to blatantly violate the 1994 cease-fire agreement, the 1995 agreement aimed at resolving tensions on the Line of Contact and repeated declarations its leaders made to take constructive steps towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict," reads the statement.

Further it recalls that the shooting occurred hours after OSCE field representatives concluded their regular monitoring of the cease-fire regime along the line of contact and hours before the Armenian and Azeri Presidents met with Russian president's mediation to discuss steps to ease recent tensions.

"Azerbaijan continues to defy the international community's calls for peace. Azerbaijan specifically refused to implement the 2008 OSCE proposal to remove snipers from the line of contact.

These actions continue to undermine Azerbaijan's credibility as a trustworthy party in talks for a settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

"The NKR reiterates that a direct condemnation of Azerbaijan's provocations by the international community would help prevent further military escalation, and contribute to the mediating efforts under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group," reads the statement.