STEPANAKERT—An OSCE line of contact mission, headed by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, was thwarted for a second time in one week, when the Azeri side refused to participate.
This latest mission was proposed by the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic authorities to investigate the latest sniper killing of a Karabakh soldier Thursday, hours after a Red Cross-monitored prison exchange and before a visit by the OSCE Chairman in Office to Yerevan.
Kasprzyk led the OSCE mission near Akna in Askeran, where Nagorno-Karabakh Republic soldier, Aharon Hairapetian, was shot and killed by an Azeri sniper Thursday evening.
Minutes after the Kasprzyk delegation’s departure, Azeri snipers opened fire on Karabakh positions, reported the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Army, which also conveyed the information to Kasprzyk.
The Karabakh Army also reported that Azeri violated ceasefire regime more than 200 times last week, filing more than 1,300 rounds toward Karabakh positions at the line of contact.
The Army added that the brunt of the shootings took place on March 17 and 18, as a result of which Hairapetian was killed.
“Despite the agreement on further reinforcement of the atmosphere of trust reached during the trilateral meeting in Sochi on March 5, the Azerbaijani side continues its provocations, thus contributing to the deepening of the military-political tension in the region,” a statement by the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Defense Ministry pointed out Sunday.
Isn’t it time for the OSCE to have a permanent representation on the line of contact, so that they could monitor the situation on a daily basis?
Another issue is why is it that our sioldiers are easily caught off guard by azeri snipers?