Foreign

Foreign

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office: Now is the time for leaders to achieve a genuine breakthrough in negotiations

18 March 2011 09:52 (UTC +04:00)

â€œUnfortunately this was reportedly followed by yet another incident on the line of contact. As I have emphasized in my meetings in Yerevan and in Baku, these incidents reconfirm my conviction that the parties must withdraw snipers from the line of contact. We need to strengthen the ceasefire regime and implement further confidence-building measures. Neither side can win from the current situation, neither militarily nor politically. I urge the parties to honour their pledge to refrain from threat or use of force. I further expect that the parties will investigate incidents on the line of contact, as agreed in Sochi on 5 March,â€ he said.

â€œAll parties agree that there is no acceptable alternative to a peaceful resolution of the conflict. The settlement process led by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs has kept the dialogue going, but now is the time for leaders to achieve a genuine breakthrough in negotiations,â€ AÅ¾ubalis said.