19 died on the Line of Contact between Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces in 2009, OSCEChairman-in-Office Personal RepresentativeAndrzej Kasprzyksaid in his interview to OSCE Magazine, published on Friday.
“There are unfortunately a number of casualties each year — approximately 30 (occasionally civilians) — as a result
of shooting incidents on the Line of Contact and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. In 2009, the number of fatalities decreased to 19, almost certainly as a result of the intensity of the negotiations. Each casualty is a tragedy and should
be avoided, especially considering that a ceasefire is in place. With regard to the withdrawal of snipers, unfortunately no agreement has been reached on this issue as yet,” Andrzej Kasprzyk said.
According to him, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot be considered “frozen.”
“The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot be considered ‘frozen.’ In fact, only the solution is frozen. Since last year we have seen the most intensive phase of the negotiation process to date: the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met six times in 2009, three times in expanded format with President Medvedev, and once so far in 2010, again in the presence of President Medvedev. The personal involvement of President Medvedev resulted in the first-ever statement on Nagorno-Karabakh signed by the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan — the so-called Moscow Declaration of November 2008,” OSCE Chairman-in-Office Personal Representative said.
According to Kasprzyk, “L’Aquila Statement,” made by Presidents of the Co-Chair countries, outlines the main elements of the talks at the moment.
“I would like to underline that the Presidents of the Co-Chair countries, when they gathered in L’Aquila for the G8 Summit in July 2009, disclosed the fundamental elements of the Basic Principles that are being negotiated. The so-called ‘L’Aquila Statement’ outlines the main elements of the talks at the moment,” he said.
Answering the question about necessity of more public transparency, Andrzej Kasprzyk said that public transparency will certainly be needed when the populations are asked to accept the results of the final negotiations.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group — Russia, France, and the U.S. — are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.
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