On February 11, the Permanent Representative of the Armenian Delegation to the OSCE, Ambassador Arman Kirakossian delivered a statement at the OSCE Permanent Council.

With regard to Azerbaijan's position of referring exclusively the principle of territorial integrity in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, Ambassador Kirakossian mentioned that all Helsinki principles are of primary significance and when it comes to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict all the OSCE participating states, including Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed that the non-use of force, equal rights and self-determination of peoples and territorial integrity are principles, upon which the conflict resolution should be based.

The Armenian side outlined that throughout the last 25 years the anti-Armenian policy of Azerbaijan has remained unchanged. Azerbaijan refuses to recognize the right of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to self-determination, while this very right is proclaimed by the presidents of the Co-Chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group as one of the basic principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution and endorsed by the OSCE Athens Ministerial Statement. Determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will stands at the core of the settlement.

The Ambassador of Armenia noted that the people of Nagorno-Karabakh achieved de-facto independent by realizing their inalienable right of self-determination in line with the legislation of the Soviet Union and international law. Therefore, the claims of Azerbaijan for sovereignty over the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are baseless. The Ambassador emphasized the imperative of respecting the rights of people of Nagorno-Karabakh, including the freedom of movement, right to vote and finally right to self-determination for the prosperity of the region and respect of human rights in general.

The Permanent Representative of Armenia reaffirmed the support of the Armenian side to the agreed format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship. He also expressed concern that Azerbaijan questions the valuable experience and efforts of the Co-Chairing countries towards the peaceful settlement of the conflict. Those consistent attacks against Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship are attacks against conflict resolution and serve as excuse for Azerbaijan for rejecting proposals of the Co-Chairs. The Ambassador of Armenia considered worrisome the manipulation of religious factor in the recent statement of the President of Azerbaijan, and outlined that ungrounded allegations of Azerbaijan on biased approaches at identity and religious level may further undermine the preparation of populations to peace.

The Ambassador of Armenia emphasized that Azerbaijan’s demands to expand the agreed format of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution are deconstructive and have negatively affected the peace process. While highly appreciating the coherent mediation efforts of the Co-Chair countries – France, Russia and the United States, Arman Kirakossian outlined that Turkey which is also a member of the Minsk Group, pursues quite the opposite approach by using the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for its geopolitical aims.

The Armenian side referred the Azerbaijani attempts to undermine the balance between the parties of the conflict and impose its will over Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh by using economic and military capacities as main obstacle towards conflict resolution. The Ambassador of Armenia expressed concern on the military provocations along the Line of Contact between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan and the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border, including by the use of heavy weapons and subversive actions.

As the Ambassador stressed, Azerbaijan has rejected all proposals aimed at consolidating ceasefire including withdrawal of snipers and establishment of investigation mechanism. The Armenian Ambassador reaffirmed the principal position of the Armenian side that the ceasefire consolidation will create conditions for peaceful and negotiated settlement, and by escalating the situation Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for maintaining the current status quo.

In his remarks Ambassador Kirakossian attached importance to the strengthening the OSCE permanent presence in the conflict zone. He outlined that there is a contradiction in Azerbaijani rhetoric of the need of more OSCE involvement in the conflict resolution and consistent policy of downgrading the Office of the Permanent Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office

The Armenian side considers destructive the Azerbaijani attempts to address the NK issue in other international fora which are not related to the conflict resolution. As an example, the recent failure to adopt an explicitly provocative resolution on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the PACE was emphasized.

In conclusion, Ambassador Kirakossian reaffirmed Armenia’s determination to continue the peace process under the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.