A new visit of the Minsk Group of the OSCE to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict area has started. This time, the visit bears one more important function, other than negotiations. The OSCE co-chairs and the special representative of the incumbent chairman will continue investigating the murder of a 9-year-old Azeri boy by an Armenian sniper in the village of Orta Garavend in the Agdam district, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence press service reports.
The Agdam district prosecutor says Fariz Badalov was wounded in the head while playing in a yard. The shot was taken from the village of Shyklar, occupied by the armed forces of Armenia. The child was taken to hospital, but medics couldn’t save him. The incident took place immediately after the meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia in Sochi on March 5.
By strange coincidence, it was because of the Sochi statement made by the three presidents, that the OSCE Minsk Group launched the investigation. The Armenian authorities hailed the initiative. The OSCE is capable of investigating the incident, it has enough experience for this. However, the efficiency of the investigation depends on the efforts and interest of its initiators, as well as the parties willingness to facilitate the investigation. The Armenian authorities claimed that the murder was committed by soldiers of the Azerbaijani army. The boy was killed by a sniper. In February, before the meeting of the presidents, incidents of ceasefire violation became almost twice as frequent as before.
In a statement from the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense, it was noted that: “The situation in Armenia is deteriorating. In Armenia, every time before or after summit level talks some forces try to wreck them with provocations.” The statement also claims that the ceasefire was violated in 10 different areas by the Armenians. The Armenian authorities do not facilitate investigations of the incidents. The goal of the OSCE is to undertake all possible measures to persuade the parties to abandon violence, as well as to prevent such incidents in the ceasefire zone and work out an efficient investigation strategy.
Elmira Tariverdiyeva, Baku. Exclusively to VK
