A political analyst from the Orbeli analytical center, Narek Minasyan, said that the implementation of mutual monitoring mechanisms is not a suggestion by the Armenian side, but it is an issue that comes from agreements made in the past.
“I am referring to the expansion of the monitoring capacities of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-In-Office and the introduction of mechanisms to investigate border incidents. These two mechanisms were part of agreements made after the military operations that took place in April of 2016. I am referring to the Vienna and St. Petersburg agreements that Azerbaijan has refused to implement since 2016,” Narek Minasyan told Aravot Daily.
He emphasized that the Armenian side has consistently followed the idea that implementing these agreements and decreasing the risk mechanisms are both important.
“However, Azerbaijan is trying to avoid taking responsibility. At some point, Azerbaijan even announced that such agreements do not exist. Azerbaijan has also tried to be an obstacle in the implementation of those agreements. In particular, they vetoed the proposal of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-In-Office to provide funding for monitoring capacities in the OSCE. Azerbaijan has tried to be an obstacle in the implementation of these agreements since 2016,” Narek Minasyan said.
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According to him, the escalation in tensions along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border in July also emphasized the importance of such mechanisms. “It is not a coincidence that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia has been pushing forward that idea and emphasizing that the latest developments show that the introduction of such mechanisms is important for avoiding such developments in the future. Azerbaijan, naturally, is trying to avoid the introduction of such mechanisms while considering the formation of a favorable environment for the negotiations process to be insignificant. It considers this to be Armenia’s way of buying time and it is moving forward with the approach that the most important thing is meaningful negotiations and not changes in the negotiations environment. However, experience shows that the OSCE shares Armenia’s approach that it is important to establish a meaningful environment.”
Minasyan stressed that the April War and the July hostilities show that the efforts made in the negotiations process can all disappear in a second as a result of an unbalanced step or statement made by Azerbaijan. “Therefore, it is very important how the OSCE co-chairs will position themselves. Will they put pressure on Azerbaijan? It is interesting that the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs announced in his interview with France 24 that it is important for Azerbaijan to publicly denounce the idea of resolving this issue militarily and that the resolution made by the OSCE Minsk Group is irreplaceable. This is important given the current situation.”
Luiza Sukiasyan
