APA’s interview with Andrzej Kasprzyk, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office
- Armenians taken hostages Azerbaijani civilians in occupied Kalbajar region, one of them was killed, others are being tortured. How would you comment on this situation, why Minsk Group has not yet expressed its opinion?
- According to available information, three Azerbaijanis after crossing the Line of Contact found themselves in the Kalbajar region. Two of them were detained and one was killed. The issue is dealt with, as always in such cases, by the International Committee of the Red Cross whose representatives met with the two detained men on 26 July, received their letters to families and are discussing the transfer of the body of the third man to the family. The Personal Representative is following this case closely in permanent contact with the ICRC. It is informing the Chairmanship of the OSCE and the Co-chairs of the Minsk Group on the related developments.
- How can parties stop the latest escalation on the front line?
- On 22 July, in Brussels, the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group met separately with the ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Azerbaijan. They expressed their serious concern about the increase in tensions and violence, including the targeted killings of civilians, along the LOC and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. They urged the parties to commit themselves to avoiding casualties and rejected the deliberate targeting of villages and the civilian population. They called on the Foreign Ministers to defuse tensions and adhere to the terms of the ceasefire.
Ultimately it is the responsibility of the parties to respect the cease-fire agreement. The Personal Representative is ready to assist in any way possible to stop the cease-fire violations. He is offering the chance for local commanders to talk directly to each other using OSCE radios during monitoring and clarify issues of their concern, or to support any measures that the parties might consider useful to implement to lower the number of such incidents.
- During his visit to the region, French President Francois Hollande offered both presidents to meet in Paris. Is there any progress in this direction?
- During the recent meetings with the Foreign Ministers, the Co-chairs discussed possible agenda items for a presidential summit, underscoring the importance of a meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan for achieving progress in peace negotiations.
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