Baku escalates the situation during each visit of the Co-chairs to the region, Armenia’s FM Edward Nalbandian said, responding to the question of “Azatutyun” Radio Station.

“That incident took place days after the Co-chairs directly called upon Azerbaijan to agree to the creation of the mechanism of investigation of cease-fire violations. The Azerbaijani provocations aim at undermining the negotiation process, and questioning the necessity of the mediation efforts. It is noteworthy that in their statement made as a follow up to the regional visit the Minsk Group Co-chairs characterized the provocation as well as an attempt to undermine the peace efforts. It is not a coincidence that right on the next day of the provocation the President of Azerbaijan came up with new threats and criticized the Co-chairs,” Nalbandian said.

The Minister reminded that the Chairman Ed Royce and Ranking Democrat Eliot Engel of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee joined by 83 Congressmen addressed an open letter to the U.S. Co-chairman of the Minsk Group. “The Congressmen rightly pointed out that artificial evenhandedness of generic calls on refraining from the use of force made to all parties to the conflict after each violation of the cease-fire regime cannot reduce the tensions. On the contrary, they have so far contributed to the dangerous escalation of the situation.

We hope that the US Co-chairman will not only follow the just appeals of the US Congressmen but also together with other Co-chairmen of the Minsk Group will make tangible efforts to fulfill their own proposal on the establishment of the mechanism for investigation of the cease-fire violations which will make useless the unaddressed calls.

Baku is continuously turning down the proposal of the Co-Chairs to create investigation mechanisms for ceasefire violations and thus the entire responsibility for their consequences evidently falls on Azerbaijan,” Nalbandian said.