The France-Artsakh Friendship Circle reminds that one year ago Azerbaijan launched large-scale offensive against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) since the ceasefire agreed in 1994.
The attack ended in military failure, which once again highlights the necessity of the exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict, which is to be reached through the establishment of a direct dialogue between the two sides of the conflict – Artsakh and Azerbaijan.
The Friendship Circle also reminds that during their offensive, the Azerbaijani armed forces committed numerous crimes against the Armenian civilians in the bordering villages of Artsakh.
“The European Court of Human Rights has recently accepted and processed the 23 complaints submitted by the Artsakh people, whose relatives have been subjected to horrific torture and afterwards were murdered by the Azeri special units. There is no doubt that these tortures contrasting the traits of the regular armed forces are the result of the anti-Armenian policy run by the Aliyev regime and are based on concrete orders,” Head of France-Artsakh Friendship Circle François Rochebloine noted.
The France-Artsakh Friendship Circle notes that such actions only contribute to the promotion of an atmosphere of mistrust, postponing the prospect of establishing peace in the region.
“This is why the international recognition of the Artsakh Republic and its return to the negotiating table must function as preconditions, instead of the hypothetical measures aimed at establishing sustainable peace in the South Caucasus,” François Rochebloine summed up.
The Friendship Circle states that the meeting held between the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan on 28 March is a step forward in that direction and supports the proposals of the Minsk Group, which are strengthening the role of OSCE Representative in the South Caucasus, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, as well as providing genuine opportunities to his office to control the ceasefire and review the origin of the incidents.