Perpetrators of such condemnable provocations by Baku regime should bear responsibility – Armen Ashotyan’s open letter to European structures

TO THE CO-CHAIRS OF THE EURONEST PA

TO THE BUREAU MEMBERS OF THE EURONEST PA

TO THE MEMBERS OF THE EU-ARMENIA PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION COMMITTEE

Dear colleagues,

On behalf of the Armenian delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly and the Armenian component of EU-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, I would like to bring to your attention that during last weeks Azerbaijan was continuously violating the trilateral cease-fire agreements of 1994-1995. On July 4th Azerbaijani Armed Forces used TR-107 multiple rocket launcher system against Nagorno-Karabakh. In response, the Defense Army of Nagorno-Karabakh was obliged to take measures to counter aggressive actions of the Azerbaijani side. It turned out, that the Nagorno-Karabakh positions were attacked from the location, where the civilian population of Azerbaijan is situated. It is not the first time that Azerbaijani leadership uses the trans-border population as a human shield for shelling the territory of Artsakh. This fact was brought to the attention of the international community on numerous occasions.

And now Baku is trying to manipulate the fact of civilian losses to shift the attention of the international community and the humanitarian organisations from the gross violations of international humanitarian law, committed by Azerbaijan during last year’s aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh, that was accompanied by despicable atrocities against civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, killing of children, barbaric mutilation of elderly people, the ISIS-style beheadings.

The masterminds and perpetrators of such condemnable provocations by the Baku regime should bear responsibility.

The continued provocations of the Azerbaijani military forces on the Line of Contact with Nagorno-Karabakh and the international border with Armenia, emphasizes the vital importance of implementation of agreements reached at the Summits of May 16, 2016 in Vienna and of June 20, 2016 in St. Petersburg and most particularly, the creation of the mechanism of investigation of violations of trilateral ceasefire agreements of 1994-1995, which could serve as a tool for prevention of incidents, as well as the confirmation of the commitment to the non-use of force or threat of force, and full adherence to the exclusively peaceful solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, and supported by the European Union and the European Parliament.

ARMEN ASHOTYAN