Growing tensions on the ground over Nagorno-Karabakh are worrisome, said the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis in an address to the UN Security Council Tuesday, OSCE official website reported.
“The OSCE role in pursuing a settlement of this prolonged conflict through greater engagement by the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group will be maintained. I will invite the conflict parties to implement confidence-building measures, including immediate withdrawal of snipers from the Line of Contact, and strengthening OSCE monitoring activities”, Azubalis said.
According to him, the Lithuanian Chairmanship will work to reduce tensions and build trust among affected communities in the South Caucasus.
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 and the surrounding regions.
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