In response to the Address of H.E. Zbigniew Rau, OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, as delivered by Ambassador Armen Papikyan, at the 1350th Special Meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council

13 January, 2022

Mr. Chairperson,

The delegation of Armenia warmly welcomes H.E. Mr. Zbigniew Rau, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Poland, back to the Permanent Council and thanks him for presenting the priorities that will guide the Polish OSCE Chairmanship throughout this year.

Distinguished Minister,

Since your last appearance at the Permanent Council in July last year, the overall security situation and the politico-military environment in the OSCE area have deteriorated further, adding new challenges to the participating States. These challenges, if not properly addressed, will continue to widen the cracks in the OSCE’s concept of comprehensive and indivisible security.

Against this backdrop, we welcome the intention of the Polish OSCE Chairmanship to pay special attention to improving the security situation in the OSCE area by contributing to the peaceful resolution of existing conflicts. In this regard, let me recall that more than a year after the signing of the trilateral ceasefire statement on 9 November 2020, not only have the grave consequences of the war of aggression unleashed against Artsakh and Armenia not been overcome, but Azerbaijan continues to constantly escalate the already tense situation both along the border with Armenia and on the line of contact with Artsakh/Nagorno‑Karabakh.

In particular, on 11 January 2022, the Azerbaijani armed formations that infiltrated into the sovereign territory of Armenia on 12 May 2021 and since then have continued their illegal presence there resorted to yet another provocation across Armenia’s eastern borderline. As a result of this unprovoked gross violation of the ceasefire, which featured the use of heavy artillery and combat unmanned aerial vehicles, three servicemen of the armed forces of Armenia were killed, Arthur Mkhitaryan, Rudik Charibyan and Vahan Babayan, and two more were wounded.

The day before this provocation, the Azerbaijani armed forces fired at and set fire to a civilian car parked near a kindergarten in the village of Karmir Shuka in Artsakh. Firefighters who arrived to extinguish the car also came under fire. Fortunately, thanks to the timely evacuation of children from the kindergarten, no one was injured as a result of this criminal act by the Azerbaijani armed forces. On the same day, the Azerbaijani armed forces fired at civilians working in the field near the village of Nakhijevanik in Artsakh. In the afternoon of the same day, on the Stepanakert-Shushi highway, Azerbaijani soldiers directed their weapons and threw stones at a civilian car containing not only the driver but also the driver’s wife and their three-year-old child.

In an interview with local media on 12 January, which was marked by yet another portion of hatred and Armenophobia, the President of Azerbaijan made a number of self-revealing statements indicating that the provocation on 11 January, which resulted in human losses, was launched at his direct command.

This recent escalation shows once again that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not resolved, despite Azerbaijan’s statements. The use of force in the OSCE area cannot resolve any conflict. Furthermore, presenting the use of force as a legitimate tool for conflict resolution undermines the security of the OSCE area and discredits those international organizations, including the OSCE, that have been established for the purpose of the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

In this context, I think it will be interesting for the participating States to know that in his interview the Azerbaijani President also noted that Baku would continue to prevent the attempts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to deal with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, noting in particular that, and I quote, “they should not deal with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, because it has been resolved. We have solved this problem instead of them. And their absence is due to this.”

We believe that under such circumstances, the continued appeals of our partners to both sides is counterproductive and even detrimental, since it serves as an open-ended invitation for Azerbaijan to commit new provocations and ceasefire violations.

Armenia expresses the hope that the Polish OSCE Chairmanship, together with other international partners, will make use of all tools at their disposal to send a clear, unambiguous and powerful message to Azerbaijan that the use of force will not be tolerated and will have repercussions. Azerbaijan should immediately stop its provocations, withdraw its forces from the sovereign territory of Armenia, stop escalating tensions both on the border with Armenia and on the line of contact with Artsakh, and implement its commitments undertaken at the meetings in Brussels and Sochi.

Distinguished Minister,

The situation concerning the Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives continues to remain unresolved. In violation of its commitments under both the 9 November 2020 trilateral ceasefire statement and international humanitarian law, Azerbaijan continues to refuse to return the Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives and conducts mock trials against them on trumped-up charges and confessions obtained under duress.

We are also deeply concerned about the refusal of Azerbaijan to provide accurate information on the number of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians it detains, which puts them at the risk of enforced disappearance. There is ample reason to believe that such disappearances have already resulted in extrajudicial executions. The latest evidence shows that the Armenian prisoners of war have been subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment not only on ethnic but also on religious grounds. These cases of torture and inhuman treatment of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian hostages still await a proper response from the relevant international organizations and partners, including the OSCE.

Esteemed Minister,

We fully share your view that it is the people that suffer the most, and we are encouraged that you intend to maintain a focus on humanitarian considerations. In this regard, it is worth recalling that in addition to its tactics of terrorizing the civilian population and attempts to create an atmosphere of fear, Azerbaijan also continues to prevent the access of international humanitarian organizations to Artsakh. International humanitarian organizations and specialized agencies must have full and unhindered access to Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent areas to carry out their mandated work without interference and restrictions. We expect the Polish OSCE Chairmanship to make additional efforts to address Azerbaijan’s undue politicization of this purely humanitarian issue.

Another source of serious concern is the issue of appropriation and/or destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage in the occupied territories of Artsakh, which is still awaiting due and adequate attention.

Mr. Chairperson,

Armenia is ready for dialogue under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co‑Chairs as a logical continuation of the meetings held in New York and Paris last year. We regret that the previously agreed meeting in Stockholm did not take place owing to Azerbaijan’s cancellation on implausible and dubious grounds.

Armenia is looking forward to welcoming the Co-Chairs to Armenia for a fully fledged visit to the region which will allow them to assess the situation on the ground first-hand. We are confident that the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and the Co-Chair countries have all necessary tools at their disposal to organize and conduct this long-overdue visit. The intention of the Polish OSCE Chairmanship to “do its utmost to promote and advance the rational, smart and flexible use of OSCE’s unique tools and negotiation formats” is an encouraging sign. And we expect and hope that the Chairmanship will keep the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in its focus throughout the year.

Your Excellency,

The recent events in the OSCE area demonstrate once again how much the security issues of all OSCE participating States are interlinked and interdependent. The appearance of foreign terrorist fighters in one part of the OSCE area gives sufficient grounds to expect their inevitable reappearance in other parts of the OSCE area. Armenia and Artsakh have issued warnings about the transfer and deployment of foreign terrorist fighters to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, urging participating States and the OSCE executive structures to take adequate measures to address this issue. We continue to insist that the existing tools in the OSCE make it perfectly possible to engage in effective counterterrorism activities. Therefore, we reiterate our call to the OSCE and its relevant executive structures to address this issue seriously and effectively.

Mr. Chairperson,

In closing, let me wish you, your colleagues in Warsaw, and your able team here in Vienna led by our distinguished colleague Ambassador Hałaciński every success in steering the OSCE through the year 2022. We assure you of Armenia’s support.

Thank you.

MFA RA
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