The Nagorno-Karabakh peace process is going on within the OSCE Minsk Group, RA Representative to the European Court of Human Rights Gevorg Kostanyan said, responding to a question concerning an impact the Chiragovs and others vs. Armenia case might have on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.

The interference of any other institutions may complicate the hard process within the OSCE Minsk Group. Both the Armenian Government and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, which have been involved in the peace process since 1992 and thoroughly studied the conflict, have repeatedly stated it, Kostanyan said.

He stressed that the Chiragovs and others vs. Armenia case does not fit the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and is not to be considered by the European Court of Human Rights, as the territories indicated in the claim are under Nagorno-Karabakh’s control. Nevertheless, the Armenian Government responded to the European Court’s inquiry and provided explanations as the second party to the claim lodged against Azerbaijan. Specifically, the explanations provided to the European

Court of Human Rights contain the NKR authorities’ comment as well.

On September 15, the European Court of Human Rights is considering two claims. The first claim was lodged by the Sargsyan family, who had to leave the village of Gyulistan, Shahumyan region, in June 1992. In their claim, the Sargsyan family pointed out that Azerbaijan is responsible for the destruction of cultural monuments and cemeteries in the village.

The other claim was lodged by the Chiragov family.