Tension Rises: What Prevents OSCE Co-Chairs from Visiting Artsakh?

The Ombudsman of Artsakh, Gegham Stepanyan, addressed the regional visit of the American co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Luis Bono, and the French co-chair, Brice Roquefoy, also highlighting the Azerbaijani threats and the tense situation in the area.

“The Azerbaijani side continues to issue threats, regularly resorting to military escalation. The situation is tense. What is preventing the American and French co-chairs currently in the region from visiting Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to express their commitment to upholding the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship and to peacefully resolving the conflict?” the Ombudsman stated.

Referring to the fact that Artsakh has been blockaded for 85 days, he also highlighted the terrorist actions carried out by the Azerbaijani armed forces on March 5, reminding that the only internationally mandated format for resolving the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict is the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship.

“During the aggressive war unleashed by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh in the fall of 2020 and in the more than two years that followed, neither the Russian nor the American nor the French co-chairs have visited Artsakh even once to assess the situation per their mandate and to find solutions to the dire circumstances. If all three co-chairing countries are genuinely interested in a just resolution to the conflict, they must at least show the courage to visit Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh),” the Ombudsman added.

It is also noteworthy that on March 5, around 10:00 AM, a sabotage group from the Azerbaijani armed forces targeted and opened fire on the vehicle of the personnel changing shift at the Artsakh Police Department’s Passport and Visa Division. As a result of the sabotage, three police officers were killed and one was wounded. The deceased officers are Lieutenant Colonel Armen Mayori Babayan, Major Davit Valeri Danilyan, and Lieutenant Ararat Telmani Gasparyan.