Discussants in the conference that was convened in the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic/NKR) capital city of Stepanakert, and which was devoted to the 25th anniversary of signing the agreement on ceasefire in the Karabakh conflict zone, have adopted a statement.
“May 12, 2019 marks the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Agreement on the full cessation of fire and hostilities in the Karabakh conflict zone concluded by Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), Azerbaijan and Armenia,” the statement reads. “This document remains so far the only considerable achievement in the conflict settlement process, which was made possible by the efforts of the Russian mediation mission led by Ambassador Vladimir Kazimirov who, since 1995, had also been a Co-Chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group.
“The Russian Federation was the first to recognize Artsakh as one of the three parties to the conflict. This pragmatic approach, subsequently reflected in the documents of the OSCE Budapest Summit of 1994, allowed each of the parties to the conflict to directly represent its interests at the negotiations and to move from formal issues to substantive discussions, which ultimately ensured the signing of the Agreement on the full cessation of fire and hostilities.
“It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the trilateral Agreement of May 12, 1994, initiated through the negotiations between Azerbaijan and Artsakh, which allowed to establish the term-less cessation of fire and hostilities, that threatened the entire South Caucasus region with calamity, and laid a solid foundation for finding a political solution to the conflict through negotiations. It serves as the best confirmation of the fact that for the effectiveness of the negotiation process the direct participation of Artsakh is necessary.
“Today, 25 years later, maintaining lasting peace in the Karabakh conflict zone remains topical. We believe that the achievement of this goal is impossible without the secure consolidation of the cease-fire and the implementation of confidence-building measures, which will allow to exclude the recurrence of the large-scale hostilities of April 2016 that claimed hundreds of lives on both sides.
“The algorithm of success is obvious - to restore the real, trilateral format of negotiations of 1994, to consistently strengthen the cease-fire regime, including through the implementation of the Vienna, St. Petersburg and Geneva Agreements of 2016 providing for the establishment of an international mechanism for investigating the ceasefire violations and increasing the number of the staff of the Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office aimed at increasing its capacities on monitoring the situation on the Line of Contact.
“We, the participants of the conference, call on the parties, as well as the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen to exert every effort for preserving stability in the region, creating conditions for effective negotiations and establishing a constructive dialogue between the societies of the conflicting parties, as the further escalation of tensions poses a risk of a new war. It is necessary to demonstrate the political will in order to securely consolidate the ceasefire established 25 years ago and to transform it into full-fledged, comprehensive and lasting peace, which meets the vital interests of all the peoples of the South Caucasus.”
