International mediators on Friday urged Azerbaijan and Armenia to implement confidence-building measures that were agreed by their presidents at their last two meetings held after an escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“We urge Azerbaijan and Armenia to remove all remaining obstacles to expanding the [ceasefire observation] mission of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk,” the U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group said in a joint statement.
“We also urge progress in substantive talks and on a proposal to establish an OSCE investigative mechanism. We will continue our engagement with the sides to advance all of these outcomes from the last two meetings between the Presidents,” added the statement.
The two measures cited by the mediators are designed to prevent serious ceasefire violations along “the line of contact” around Karabakh and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Unlike Armenia, Azerbaijan opposed them until now, saying that they would only cement the status quo.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pledged to accept the proposed safeguards during talks with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian held in Vienna and Saint Petersburg on May 16 and June 20 respectively.
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian claimed after the Saint Petersburg summit that Baku is still reluctant to agree to the deployment of more OSCE observers on the frontlines and international inquiries of truce violations there.