Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Bernard Fassier (France), Robert Bradtke (USA) and Igor Popov (Russia) and personal representative of OSCE chairman Andrzej Kasprzyk are monitoring the Azerbaijani-Armenian border today. They crossed the border towards the Bala Jafarli Village at about noon.
They monitored territories of the Gazakhsky District. No incidents were registered. Then the co-chairs headed to Baku. They are expected to be taken to Azerbaijan by helicopter.
The co-chairs met Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan. Bernard Fassier presented his replacement in the position of the OSCE MG co-chair, Jacques Faure.
The sides discussed settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for the coming meeting of OSCE foreign ministers in Vilnius. Sargsyan noted the need to strengthen trust.
The co-chairs will meet Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and President Ilham Aliyev.
Andrey Areshev, Deputy Director of the Fund for Strategic Culture, commented on the visit to Vestnik Kavkaza, noting that the potential of the OSCE Minsk Group is limited, because not all depends on diplomats. There are also formal and informal players that appear on the scene at random, yet actively.
Areshev said that there is need for efficient monitoring of the contact line to avoid military escalation and murders. The ability of the co-chairs to introduce principles that would satisfy one side or another are doubtful. The monitoring process is low-ranking but is necessary to create at least the basic grounds for a constructive dialogue. Current conditions do not allow for a breakthrough in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, the expert concludes.
