In his interview to the Russian magazine "International Life" Armenia's Foreign Affairs Minister Edward Nalbandyan said that together with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Armenia would pursue the peace-making efforts.
He said that in 2014 - 20 years after Armenia and Azerbaijan signed the ceasefire agreement - the Azerbaijani side significantly increased the ceasefire violations. The Azeri also used heavy armament against civilian property. Their actions resulted in the escalation of the situation and an unprecedented number of victims from the both conflicting sides. The Foreign Affairs' Minister said that in January 2015 the OSCE MG co-chairs expressed their concern to Azerbaijan on the escalation of the situation and sabotage operations on the line of contact. The co-chairs called upon Baku to comply with their commitments on the peaceful settlement of the conflict.
According to Nalbandyan, the co-chairs have been and are making specific proposals on the ceasefire regime strengthening, establishing a body that would investigate the incidents and ceasefire violations, the withdrawal of snipers from the contact line and other confidence-building measures. However, Azerbaijan remains deaf to the proposals and the initiatives of mediators who have the international mandate. The FA Minister said that Baku is still standing in opposition to the Minsk Group co-chairs, torpedoing the negotiations, rejecting aside the proposals on the peaceful settlement. The minister believes that Azerbaijan is trying to present its own negotiation-imitation plans instead of the mediators' thus distorting the essence of the conflict and the negotiation's process, as well as implementing discrediting campaigns against the OSCE MG co-chairs and the current OSCE chair's personal representative.
"Azerbaijan is "obsessed" by its so-called opportunities on the military settlement of the conflict - hence the attempts at calling into question the OSCE Minsk Group's actions, moving the conflict settlement issue onto a different platform, adding territorial dispute atmosphere to the problem and speculating on the religious factor. Their true goals are covered up by the activation of the provocative actions on the border with Armenia and the line of contact with the NKR", he said.