ArmInfo. The latest statement of the Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries, made at the meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Hamburg, was rather harsh as compared to their previous statements, Deputy Director of the Caucasus Institute Sergey Minasyan said at a press conference on December 12.
"Though the statement was not addressed to any particular party, the stresses put in the statement, including those related to the April events, atrocities against the civilians, expansion of the OSCE CiO Personal Representative's Office, and establishment of investigative mechanisms point at Azerbaijan only," the expert said.
As regards the situation in the Karabakh conflict zone, Minasyan emphasized that Armenia gives high priority to the military and military-technical component, which was seriously reinforced in 2016. "The year is coming to its end and the negative forecasts made at the beginning of the year have not come true fortunately. However, I think today the threat of resumption of large-scale hostilities in the conflict zone is at the same level as in April 2016," he said. At the same time, the expert thinks one should expect no progress in the Karabakh peace process in the foreseeable future.
To note, the statement says that the Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries remain fully committed to a negotiated settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. They also call on Baku and Yerevan to honor the agreements reflected in the Joint Statements of the 16 May Summit in Vienna and the 20 June Summit in St. Petersburg. The statement of the Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries reads, "We remind the sides that the settlement must be based on the core principles of the Helsinki Final Act, namely: non-use of force, territorial integrity, and the equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and additional elements as proposed by the Presidents of the Co-Chair countries, including return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; an interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh providing guarantees for security and self- governance; a corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh; future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will; the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence; and international security guarantees that would include a peacekeeping operation."