NKR: AZERBAIJAN TRYING TO REDUCE NEUTRAL AREA WIDTH

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.03.2008 14:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "For over eight years the Azerbaijani side has been
attempting to bring its outposts closer to our positions, reducing
the width of the neutral area. Experience shows that the ceasefire
is often violated in those places where the outposts of the conflict
sides are closer," said Masis Mayilyan, former Deputy Foreign Minister
of the Nagrono Karabakh Republic.

"The roots of the escalation on the line of contact should be sought
in the absence of distinct mechanisms of control of cease-fire. The
activities of the office of the personal representative of the OSCE
CiO are necessary but not sufficient," he said.

"The recent events in Martakert caused a heated debate within
the international community. It is evident that the countries
and organizations involved in the peace process over Karabakh are
interested in maintaining peace and stability in our region. Since
regional stability is both in our interest and in the interest of the
key regional actors, it would be advisable to launch consultation
with the OSCE and the mediating countries to work out mechanisms
of maintenance of ceasefire. During the consultation, NKR as one of
the sides in the conflict could come up with an initiative to hold
monitoring more frequently by the civilian observers of the OSCE, and
in the second stage the international control could become permanent,"
he said.

"During the talks it is necessary to consider the issue of setting
up and dispatching a new OSCE observation mission to the region,
since expanding the staff and powers of the office of the personal
representative of the OSCE CiO will be beneficial. In order to raise
the effectiveness of mechanisms of control it is necessary to enlarge
the neutral area through restoring the status quo post bellum. In other
words, the Azerbaijani troops should return to the positions which
they used to occupy in May 1994. The exact coordinates of the line of
contact should be presented by the relevant agencies of the Minsk Group
countries, as well as the OSCE office, the representatives of which
have been monitoring the line for over a decade. In this situation,
initiatives by NKR can not only raise the level of physical security
of our citizens but also underline that NKR is a party," Mr Mayilyan
resumed, KarabakhOpen reports.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress