The OSCE chairman-in-office has welcomed yesterday's exchange of prisoners between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
He made the remarks in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, on Friday.
Azubalis urged the authorities to work towards progress on a Nagorno-Karabakh settlement and called on both sides to immediately withdraw snipers from the line of contact, separating Armenian and Azerbaijani forces.
"I welcome yesterday's exchange of prisoners between Azerbaijan and Armenia, following the agreement between the presidents. Unfortunately, this was reportedly followed by yet another incident on the contact line," Azubalis told a joint press conference following a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.
"As I have emphasized in my meetings in Yerevan and in Baku, these incidents reconfirm my conviction that the parties must withdraw snipers from the contact line."
Azubalis suggested that Armenia could make the first move on the withdrawal of snipers.
“Here, in Armenia, I suggested that my colleague, maybe Armenia, would take the first step and withdraw the snipers. The recommendation was more of an improvisation but I made it. I think that would be the best demonstration of goodwill by Armenia,” Azubalis told the press conference.
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian responded that both Armenia and Karabakh had accepted the proposal to withdraw snipers.
“Armenia has also approved the recommendations to reinforce the ceasefire regime and to hold an investigation. We also support the agreement to reject the use of force. I would like to remind you that recently, on the eve of the Sochi meeting and after that, and even yesterday, when the representatives of the co-chairing states and chairperson-in-office are in the region, Azerbaijani snipers killed another Armenian soldier in Karabakh. Much fuss is created over the death of a five-year-old child, which was technically impossible from Karabakh. All those steps are made to increase tension in the region. We support, on the basis of the positive atmosphere created in Sochi, the continuation of the negotiations towards the resolution of the conflict,” Nalbandian said.
The OSCE chairman said confidence had to be built up along the contact line.
"We need to strengthen the ceasefire regime and implement further confidence-building measures. Neither side can win from the current situation, neither militarily nor politically. I urge the parties to honour their pledge to refrain from threat or use of force. I further expect that the parties will investigate incidents on the line of contact, as agreed in Sochi on 5 March," Azubalis told the press conference.
"All parties agree that there is no acceptable alternative to a peaceful resolution of the conflict. The settlement process led by the Minsk Group co-chairs has kept the dialogue going, but now is the time for leaders to achieve a genuine breakthrough in negotiations."
Democratic reform
Audronius Azubalis also offered OSCE support for domestic reforms in Armenia, in particular to ensure freedom of the media, assembly and association.
"Armenia and the South Caucasus are important for the security and stability of the whole OSCE region," he said. "I welcome Armenia's stated goal of embarking on thorough regulatory, judicial and democratic reforms. I also welcome the high level of cooperation with our Office in Yerevan, which is offering close support for the reform process. This includes reforms ahead of the parliamentary elections next year to help ensure broad political participation and respect for freedom of media, association and assembly.
"The OSCE, its Office in Yerevan and its institutions, including the representative on freedom of the media and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, stand ready to further support Armenia in its efforts."
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