Monday, July 27 2020 20:46

ArmInfo. Artsakh MFA issued a statement on the 26th anniversary of signing the trilateral document confirming the ceasefire commitments.

26 years ago, on July 26-27, 1994, the Republic of Artsakh,  Azerbaijan and Armenia, under the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group  Co-Chairmen, signed a document, in which they confirmed their strong  determination to continue to fulfill their ceasefire commitments and  fixed the indefinite nature of the Agreement on the full cessation of  fire and hostilities of May 12, 1994.

This trilateral document, as well as the agreement of May 12, 1994  and the agreement of February 6, 1995 on strengthening the ceasefire  created the required conditions for finding a settlement of the  Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict through negotiations, and they serve as  a basis for the peace process so far. Being the key elements of the  process of not only settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict,  but also for ensuring regional security in the South Caucasus as a  whole, these agreements are the best evidence of the efficiency of  the trilateral negotiation format, within which they became possible.

Unfortunately, we periodically witness attempts by the Azerbaijani  side to relinquish its commitments to maintain peace in the region  and to endow itself with an imaginary right to unleash a war, as well  as to undermine the agreements making the basis for the peaceful  settlement process. However, such attempts have always met with a  sharply negative reaction from the international community.

In 2016, in response to the situation that arose as a result of a new  war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh and the attempts by  official Baku to denounce the Agreement on the full cessation of fire  and hostilities of 12 May 1994, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing  states - Russia, the United States and France, as well as the  Secretary General of the United Nations, the OCSE  Chairperson-in-Office and the Secretary General of the Council of  Europe called for the strict adherence to the commitments to maintain  the ceasefire, thereby recognizing the binding nature of the  aforementioned agreements of 1994-1995.

Against the background of the direct armed aggression of Azerbaijan  unleashed on the Tavush section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on  July 12, 2020 and the subsequent targeted escalation of the  situation, the need for the international community to take practical  measures to ensure the impressibility of the peace process and to  exclude the possibility of resumption of the hostilities becomes  increasingly urgent. The escalation of tensions on July 12 serves as  yet another reminder of the imperative nature of the immediate  establishment of mechanisms for the international ceasefire control.

The Republic of Artsakh confirms its adherence to the commitments  assumed to fulfill the agreements on the full cessation of fire and  hostilities. At the same time, the authorities of Artsakh will  continue to take all necessary measures to strengthen the country's  security, and they are ready to suppress any attempt by Azerbaijan to  launch a new aggression against the territorial integrity and  sovereignty of the Republic of Artsakh.