The OSCE “needs assessment team,” which arrived in Armenia last week, continued its mission on Monday and Tuesday by visiting the Gegharkunik and Vayots Dzor provinces.
The team on Monday visited the town of Jermuk where its mayor, Vahagn Arsenyan, briefed the group on the situation in that hard-hit city after Azerbaijan’s September 13 attack.
“During a meeting before going up to the defensive positions, the team was briefed on the aftermath of the September 13 Azerbaijani attack, the damages inflicted on civilian infrastructures, and the threats which emerged after the Azerbaijani aggression, including the previous distance of Azerbaijani troops from the town and their current locations,” Armenian said in a statement.
Major-general Smbat Grigoryan and other high-ranking military officers were present at the meeting.
The team then inspected the situation on the ground. The delegation visited defensive positions, the Jermuk tramway and other parts of the town. The information on the damages was recorded by the team.
On Tuesday, the OSCE team visited several towns and villages in the Gegharkunik Province—another target of Azerbaijani forces during the September invasion.
The group visited Katakan, Sotk, Verin-Shorzha, Ayrk and Norabag towns and villages and became acquainted with the conditions in the aftermath of the attacks.
In a related matter, Armenia’s Ambassador at-Large Edmon Marukyan met with the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk on Tuesday and discussed issues related to regional security and peace, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry reported.
Marukyan reportedly briefed Kasprzyk about the consequences of the September 13 attacks by Azerbaijan and specifically emphasized the international community’s targeted response condemning Azerbaijan’s breach of Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the OSCE’s role in preventing future aggressions and resolving conflicts.
