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    Categories: 2019

Talks about restoring cease-fire line of 1994, broken by Azerbaijan in April 2016 were held in Stepanakert

Arminfo, Armenia
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo.y 10, at the initiative of the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Artsakh, a  conference dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Agreement on the  full cessation of fire and hostilities signed by Artsakh, Armenia and  Azerbaijan was held in Stepanakert, the press service of NKR MFA  reports.

 Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of  Artsakh Ashot Ghulyan and Foreign Minister Masis Mayilian, as well as  Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the National Assembly  of the Republic of Armenia Ruben Rubinyan and Deputy Foreign Minister  of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan took part in the conference. Members of  the parliamentary factions of Artsakh National Assembly and other  officials, as well as experts from Artsakh, Armenia and Russia also  participated in the event.

Former Co-Chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Vladimir Kazimirov also  participated in the conference as an honorary guest.

Foreign Minister of the Republic of Artsakh Masis Mayilian delivered  a speech at the event.

In his speech, the Foreign Minister noted that the 25th anniversary  of the Agreement is a good opportunity to evaluate the event, as well  as summarize some results and outline the steps needed to strengthen  the ceasefire regime and to increase the effectiveness of the process  of peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict.

Noting the importance of the Agreement on the full cessation of fire  and hostilities, Masis Mayilian, in particular, stressed that the  termless trilateral Agreement of May 12, 1994 is, in fact, the only  tangible achievement in the entire process of the conflict  settlement, which put an end to the war unleashed by Azerbaijan  against Artsakh and transferred the conflict to the  political-diplomatic field. Thus, conditions were created for the  parties to focus their efforts on finding ways for the final  settlement of the conflict through negotiations, supported by the  international mediators.  Masis Mayilian stressed that the Artsakh  party had always adhered to the commitments assumed under the May 12,  1994 Agreement, as well as had repeatedly come forward with  initiatives on ensuring the irreversibility of the peace process. As  an example, the Foreign Minister noted the readiness of Artsakh  authorities to provide the international mediators with the data of  the video monitoring system on the situation on the border, adding  that the aforementioned system could become part of the international  mechanism for monitoring the ceasefire regime.

In this context, Masis Mayilian also noted the importance of  implementation of the Agreements reached at the Summits in Vienna and  St. Petersburg held after the April war of 2016.

In his speech, the Foreign Minister also stressed the issue of  demarcation line of the conflicting forces, which all the three  parties fixed as part of the ceasefire regime under the mediation of  the Defense Ministry of Russia. Therefore, the implementation of the  ceasefire agreement also means the restoration of the agreed  ceasefire line, which was violated by Azerbaijan in April 2016.

Masis Mayilian expressed conviction that the combination and  complementarity of the diplomatic and military-political conditions -  restoration of the direct trilateral negotiations and consolidation  of the ceasefire regime and ensuring the irreversibility of the peace  process – will create the necessary preconditions for real progress  in the process of peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh  conflict and for ensuring lasting stability in the South Caucasus.   

Emil Lazarian: “I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS