Month: April 2016

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs will meet in Vienna on Monday, US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick said in a Twitter post.

“The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs will meet in Vienna on Monday and convene the Minsk Group on Tuesday to address violence in Nagorno-Karabakh,” Warlick tweeted.

The Co-Chairs will meet in Vienna on Monday and convene the Minsk Group on Tuesday to address violence in Nagorno-.

— James Warlick (@AmbJamesWarlick)

CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha discussed the escalation in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Spokesman of the CSTO Secretary General Vladimir Zaynetdinov told TASS.

“During the conversation the parties reached an agreement on the necessity of ceasing the military actions in the Karabakh conflict zone and taking necessary steps in that direction,” he said.

Zaynetdinov noted that Bordyuzha earlier had a phone conversation with Armenian defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan.

The Armenian Defense Ministry declares that that the Azerbaijani reports on invasion of settlements in Nagorno Karabakh, destroyed combat equipment and hundreds of human losses on the Armenian side comprise obvious misinformation and have nothing to do with reality.

The Azerbaijani side is thus trying to justify its own losses, Spokesman of the Armenian ministry of Defense Artsrun Hovhannisyan said in a Facebook post.

The Defense Ministry advises to publish only official information.

The NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement on the escalation of tensions in the Karabakh conflict zone:

In the early hours of April 2, Azerbaijan initiated an unprecedented and explosive escalation of tension along the line of contact between the armed forces of Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic with the use of heavy armor, artillery and combat aircraft. Azerbaijani armed forces shelled by artillery not only advanced positions of the NKR Defense Army, but also the civilian settlements that resulted in casualties, including among the civilian population.

Such an escalation of tension by Azerbaijan is fraught with unexpected consequences. In this situation, the NKR Defense Army is taking all necessary measures to force Azerbaijan to cease hostilities. Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for possible consequences, a country which once again has initiated irresponsible and senseless adventurism.

We urge the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-office publicly and strongly condemn Azerbaijan for the systematic escalation of the situation, violation of peace and stability in the region.

EU High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini has issued the following statement on the escalation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict:

Reports of heavy fighting along the line of contact are deeply worrying.

I call on the parties to stop the fighting immediately and observe the cease-fire. The sides must show restraint and avoid any further actions or statements that could result in escalation.

The European Union deplores the loss of life, in particular the reports of civilian casualties and deaths.

The European Union fully supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group and the three Co-Chairs. We expect both sides to respect strictly the ceasefire, refrain from the use of force and resume efforts towards a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Moscow hopes that the OSCE Minsk Group’s call for cessation of hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region will help normalize the situation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Saturday, Sputnik News reports.

With respect to the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said today in Berlin:

”I am very concerned about the military escalation along the Line of Contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone and about the casualties, including among civilians. I call upon the sides to end hostilities immediately and to respect the ceasefire in full.

There is no military solution to the conflict. The sides must now show the necessary political will to return to the negotiations in the framework of the Minsk Group. The Minsk Group Co-Chairs enjoy my full support in their task.”

“Very worried about outbreak of fighting in Nagorno Karabakh,” Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, said in a Twitter post.

“I deplore loss of lives and urge everybody to refrain from any kind of violence,” the Commissioner said.

Nagorno-Karabakh "Very Worried about outbreak of fighting. Deplore loss of lives and urge everybody to refrain from any kind of violence".

— Johannes Hahn (@JHahnEU)

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has initiated an online action portal – – where supporters of Karabakh peace can contact US government officials to take immediate action to stop President Aliyev’s latest deadly anti-Armenian attacks.

Grassroots action is directed to President Obama, Vice-President Biden, Congressional leaders and the OSCE Minsk Group’s Karabakh negotiators to publicly and unequivocally condemn Azerbaijani aggression and take concrete steps to ensure a lasting peace in the region which respects the right to self-determination and freedom of the people of Nagorno Karabakh.  “Unless stopped, President Aliyev will act upon his oft-stated threats to start a full-scale Caucasus war – one that will visit vast death and destruction upon all the peoples of the region, very likely leading to a wider and even more dangerous conflict,” stresses the message to U.S. officials.

The letter campaign is paired with a social media effort urging US leaders to #StopAliyev.

On April 2nd, Azerbaijani forces launched a wide-scale attack along the full-length of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic border, specifically targeting civilian populations with heavy artillery, mortar and gunfire.  One Armenian child has been killed with reports of additional wounded.

The violence comes just days after President Aliyev met with U.S. Vice-President Biden and Secretary of State Kerry during the international nuclear summit held in Washington, DC.  ANCA Executive Director described Aliyev’s warm reception in Washington as giving a “green light” for these latest anti-Armenian attacks.

“Vice President Biden, in personally meeting Azerbaijani President Aliyev in this manner – without any public challenge to his escalating regional aggression and worsening domestic repression – openly emboldened his belligerence while actively undermining American efforts to keep the peace and reach a negotiated settlement,” said Hamparian. “Secretary Kerry in his public remarks with President Aliyev, regretfully, made no mention at all of any American concerns regarding President Aliyev’s threats and acts of violence or his crackdown on domestic dissent. There has, as well, been no mention, in the public record, of the life-saving Royce-Engel peace proposals that the State Department has publicly supported.”