OSCE official stops short of naming side responsible for ceasefire monitoring disruption

A top representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)  refrains from specific statements to accuse any side of the recent ceasefire violations along the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border.

In his response to Tert.am's written request for comments on the armed incident during the mission's monitoring close to the village Chinari (Tavush region), Ambassador Andrzey Kasprzyk, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, said they were unable to establish where the gunshots came from and who actually fired them.

“On 31 August, when the OSCE monitoring team near the Armenian border was visiting the village of Chinari (Armenia) to meet local authorities, shots were heard in the vicinity. According to standard procedure, monitoring teams on the Armenian and on the Azerbaijani sides immediately requested the local commanders to clarify the situation and to reconfirm security guarantees. Following the exchange of further security guarantees, my field assistants and I heard additional shots fired at a distance on three separate occasions. Being in the center of the village, surrounded by buildings and hills, we were unable to establish where the shots were coming from and who fired them. Furthermore, we have no mandate to investigate. The fact that, on this occasion, the security guarantees were not respected is a matter of concern. The parties have to respect the ceasefire and the security guarantees, as they are at all times responsible for the security of the OSCE monitoring teams. The Austrian OSCE Chairmanship was immediately informed,” said the diplomat.  

Speaking to Tert.am after the incident on Thursday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, Artsrun Hovhannisyan, said the monitoring was disrupted after the Azerbaijani armed forces opened fire towards the representatives of the OSCE group.

Earlier the same day, the Foreign Ministry's press secretary, Tigran Balayan shared his concerns over the incident on Twitter.

Related news

• Azerbaijan disrupts OSCE monitoring along Armenia's state border