Karabakh urges OSCE MG to act against Azeri escalation

PanARMENIAN.Net - On the night of November 10 -11, and during the day the Azerbaijani armed forces used 60- and 80-mm mortars to shell the frontline positions of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) Defense Army near the villages of Talish and Yarimja. Such massive use of mortars occurring for the first time after a large-scale aggression against Nagorno Karabakh in April, has become the continuation of recent escalation of tension on the line of contact by Azerbaijan, NKR Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“It is of serious concern that the aggravation of the situation is taking place against the background of Azerbaijan's preparation for the large-scale military exercises near the NKR borders, employing a large number of military equipment and manpower.

Such actions are a flagrant violation of agreements reached at summits in Vienna and St. Petersburg on inadmissibility of escalation of tension on the line of contact and indicate Azerbaijan’s intention to impede the measures aimed at creating conditions for the resumption of the negotiation process.

Moreover, Azerbaijan not only rejects creation of mechanisms for investigation of incidents and expansion of the office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE CiO, but also seeks to undermine the only international monitoring mechanism to maintain the ceasefire regime by firing an area where the OSCE mission carried out a planned monitoring on the day before.

In this situation, we call on the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the OSCE Chairperson in Office and the international community to condemn in the strongest terms destructive policy of the Azerbaijani authorities, and to take effective measures to prevent a further escalation of tension.

In its turn, the NKR will suppress any actions of Azerbaijan, threatening the security of the Republic, the peace and stability in the region,” the statement said.