Snipers must be withdrawn to avoid further incidents on line of contact, says OSCE Chairperson during visit to Armenia

YEREVAN, 18 March 2011 - The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, in Yerevan today, urged the authorities to work towards progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process and called for both sides to immediately withdraw snipers from the line of contact.

He also offered OSCE support for advancing domestic reforms, in particular to ensure freedom of media, assembly and association.

"I welcome yesterday's exchange of prisoners between Azerbaijan and Armenia, following on the agreement between the Presidents. Unfortunately this was reportedly followed by yet another incident on the line of contact," said Ažubalis following a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian. "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."

He added: "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."

"All 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."

Advancing the settlement of the region's protracted conflicts is a priority of Lithuania's 2011 OSCE Chairmanship.

Ažubalis will meet President Serzh Sargsyan, Hovik Abrahamyan, the Speaker of the National Assembly, representatives of political parties and Levon Ter-Petrosyan of the opposition Armenian National Congress later today. He met staff from the OSCE Office in Yerevan yesterday.

"Armenia and the South Caucasus are important for the security and stability of the whole OSCE region," he said. "I welcome Armenia's stated goal of embarking on thorough regulatory, judicial and democratic reforms. I also welcome the high level of co-operation with our Office in Yerevan, which is offering close support for the reform process. This includes reforms ahead of the parliamentary elections next year to help ensure broad political participation and respect for freedom of media, association and assembly."

"The OSCE, its Office in Yerevan and its institutions, including the Representative on Freedom of the Media and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, stand ready to further support Armenia in its efforts," he added.

In his meetings in Yerevan, the Chairperson will present the priorities of Lithuania's 2011 OSCE Chairmanship, including advancing the settlement of the region's protracted conflicts, and promoting media freedom, energy security and regional co-operation, in particular on border management and fighting transnational threats.

Ažubalis will also discuss the follow-up process to the Astana Commemorative Declaration, which was adopted by the Heads of State and Government at the OSCE Summit in Astana in December. In the Declaration all OSCE participating States renewed their commitments in all three dimensions of security – the politico-military, the economic and environmental, and the human dimensions.

The visit to Armenia concludes the Chairperson's trip to the South Caucasus following visits to Azerbaijan and Georgia earlier this week.