“We wanted to send a message to Azerbaijan and Armenia that the line of contact is not permanent, but the ceasefire must be observed,” the OSCE MG American Co-Chair Robert Bradtke stated in his interview with the Azerbaijani service of BBC, APA agency reports.

“When we were preparing a program to advance the Karabakh peace talks, we decided to do much. To cross the line of contact was one of these plans.  According to him, crossing the line of contact of Azerbaijani and Armenian troops had several reasons:

“We wanted to do it because of several reasons. First of all we wanted to underline that the line of contact is not a border separating the neighboring nations. We wanted to express our hope that one day the peoples of both sides will be able to cross the line of contact. Our second aim was to check the reports about the violation of the ceasefire. Another goal of crossing the line of contact was to underline the necessity of respecting the ceasefire. It was a very interesting mission. I would like to thank the OSCE’s small mission that is monitoring here permanently. They are facing some safety risks here. During our visit we received support both from OSCE and the military structures of the two sides,” he said.

The co-chair stressed they had held talks on both sides of the line of contact. “These were very interesting talks, as both sides gave contradicting reports about the situation, especially concerning the responsibility for the violation of ceasefire. I understood that much should be done to reach understanding between the two sides in order to advance the process of negotiations,” he said.

Robert Bradtke said civilians did not live on the line of contact. “This is the territory, where civilians do not live. This is a road and we reached its end we saw trenches. Trees and bushes around have been cut down, so that they do not hinder the vision from both sides. We were following the soldiers detecting mines. We witnessed again that there is a need to advance the peace process. The line of contact should not remain a permanent fence restricting the free movement of the people of the region. We witnessed the seriousness of the situation. I do not know whether our mission will change anything or not. But it was a message to all the sides. The line of contact is not permanent, but the ceasefire must be observed,” he said.

The co-chair said there were some 40 meters between the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops in some places of the contact line. “The ceasefire is violated due to these reasons mostly, but recent events caused great concern. Not only shootings took place in the contact line recently, but soldiers also attempted to cross he contact line. We told both sides that it is very dangerous situation and such cases should be prevented. The strengthening of ceasefire was in the focus of attention during our talks in Baku, in Yerevan and in Stepanakert. I will be honest if I say that it will be impossible to deploy peacekeeping forces here immediately. We see none of the sides wants that”.