OSCE Calls To Refuse Responsive Measures

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) unites 56 countries but it has almost no mechanism of intervention in security-related issues. OSCE has no peacekeeping forces. OSCE is even unable to force one of its members, Azerbaijan, to permit a mission of investigation of incidents on the border. This organization is also unable to follow up violations of the agreement on Conventional Armed Forces. Moreover, OSCE members sell weapons to conflict sides.

OSCE is either really powerless or its leadership does not want to find out and declare those guilty for regular violations on the ceasefire on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Otherwise, OSCE would have given up the bad practice of issuing parity statements.

Yesterday, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Irish foreign minister Eamon Gilmore stated that “All parties, all actors must refrain from the use or threat of force and from retaliation.” At the same time, he didn’t continue the idea of his precedent, foreign minister of Lithuania, Azubalis, who had called on Armenia for unilateral withdrawal of snipers from the line of contact. Gilmore stated that it is necessary to refuse responsive measures. This means that Armenians are appealed not to interfere when they are killed.

“As an important step in confidence building and preventing further casualties, the OSCE has been calling repeatedly for both sides to remove snipers from the line of contact and to agree on a mechanism of investigating incidents on the line of contact. The Presidents agreed in their meeting in Sochi in March 2011 to investigate incidents on the line of contact under the auspices of the Minsk Group co-chairs. The co-chairs presented a proposal to the sides but they still have not provided comments to it. Ambassador Kasprzyk does not have the mandate or the resource to conduct investigation of the violations of the ceasefire,” said Gilmore actually acknowledging that OSCE had no teeth.

Today, Gilmore met with the NKR president Bako Sahakyan. The meeting was in Yerevan because the OSCE Chairperson didn’t run the risk to go to Karabakh and to get acquainted with the situation there. He didn’t risk because he was afraid that he will go to Baku then. Or, he just didn’t want to have a tough trip since everything is clear to him, even without visiting.

Bako Sahakyan stated that Karabakh supports peace settlement of the conflict within the frameworks of the OSCE Minsk Group but he demanded to restore the format of negotiations defined by the OSCE Budapest Summit in which Karabakh participated. Besides, Bako Sahakyan called on the international community to react to the militaristic statements and subversive attacks by Azerbaijan. He invited Gilmore to arrive in Karabakh and get acquainted with the situation in place. Earlier, all the parliamentary groups of Karabakh had issued a joint statement noting that “the international community should immediately undertake preventive measures to restrain the militaristic policy of Azerbaijan through the recognition of independence of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.”