YEREVAN—Frank Engel, a member of the European Parliament from Luxembourg considers the installation of investigative mechanisms for incidents on the Artsakh-Azerbaijan border, known as the line of contact, a necessity.
In an interview with Armenpress, Engel said that while he did not see any new revelation in an announcement made by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairmen on Monday, he hoped that they discussed its necessity for the investigative mechanisms during their meetings with the Azerbaijani leadership.
“I don’t think there’s much real news, at least not on the visible side of things. The Azerbaijani side is keeping up a certain threat momentum, and that involves boasting about “enemies killed”. They stick to their logic of showing their public opinion their capacity to inflict damage and harm. I remain convinced that a contact line surveillance mechanism should be urgently put in place – and I do hope that the co-chairs insist on this when they speak with the authorities of Azerbaijan”, Engel told Armenpress.
The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Ambassadors Igor Popov of Russia, Stephane Visconti of France, and Richard Hoagland of the United States of America, as well as the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk issued a statement on June 19 based on the results of their regional visit. In Yerevan the Co-Chairs met with President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan (June 10), and in Baku with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (June 19). In both capitals the Co-Chairs held consultations with the ministers of foreign affairs and defense. During their talks in Baku, the Co-Chairs expressed deep concern over the recent ceasefire violations on the eve of their visit to Azerbaijan which resulted in casualties in the line of contact. They appealed to the leadership of Azerbaijan to avoid further escalation.