OSCE monitoring on contact line named as important confidence building measure

The monitoring exercises on the line of contact of troops are an important confidence building measure, the spokesperson of the OSCE Chairmanship Helene Spitzer said on June 6.

The OSCE mission regularly holds monitoring on the contact line of Armenian and Azerbaijani troops. The monitoring exercises provide a ‘snapshot’, a way of accessing information regarding the situation on the ground.

The monitoring exercises of the Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, are carefully prepared and agreed with the sides. They are conducted with the assistance of military escorts to ensure the safety of all participants, said Spitzer.

She also noted that Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk is continuously exploring other avenues to increase confidence between the sides. In the preparatory phase, the Personal Representative clearly defines the area in which he would like the monitoring exercise to take place. He chooses locations which provide an opportunity to evaluate the situation.

“A monitoring exercise is considered to be successful if the Personal Representative and his teams are led by the sides to the agreed area, which is confirmed by establishing visual contact,” Spitzer noted. “In addition, the Personal Representative and his teams are provided with information through briefings.”

Armenia captured NagornoKarabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.

Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal. Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. within the OSCE Minsk Group have produced no results so far.

The frequent ceasefire violations occur almost every day, causing great hardship for the people living near the frontline, as they can't live their normal everyday lives and are always under a threat. Persistent shootings by the Armenian forces lead to casualties and even deaths among the civilian Azerbaijani population.