Armenia and Azerbaijan refused to withdraw snipers
OSCE Chairman and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis says "a certain space exists for progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."
"After the Sochi meeting of the Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian Presidents I was convinced that a certain background was created for the conflict settlement progress," Azubalis said in an interview with DELFI - the most popular portal in Lithuania.
"Although the OSCE Minsk Group is often criticized, the co-chairs continue to work. The co-chairs are criticized because critics are unaware of their activity," said the Lithuanian Foreign Minister.
"The co-chairs' proposals create serious grounds for progress. But the Minsk Group cannot resolve the conflict. The co-chairs can only propose plans, but no one can move the settlement process forward unless the sides demonstrate political will," stressed Azubalis.
Regarding the co-chairs' proposal to withdraw snipers from the line of contract between Karabakh and Azerbaijani armed forces, Azubalis said these are just small steps towards trust.
"It so happened that during my regional visit, both sides had losses. I proposed to Armenia to pull out its snipers from the contact line. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan refused my proposal. I am sure that once the snipers are removed, the sides would have a positive result. Snipers will not bring either political or military success. The sides reached an agreement in Sochi to start consultations on mechanisms of investigation of the incidents at the contact line. This is positive," Ažubalis told Azatutyun (Liberty) radio station.
