Statement by Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office

TBILISI, 5 October 2016 - Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, today conducted a monitoring exercise on the Line of Contact in accordance with his mandate. This exercise took place six months after the outbreak of hostilities in early April.

Personal Representative Kasprzyk said: “As usual, the sides provided information regarding the situation on the Line of Contact, including ceasefire violations registered since the previous monitoring exercise. This information has been reported to the Minsk Group members, including its Co-chairs, and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office. Reports in the media sometimes allege that my Office does not register ceasefire violations or indicate the responsible party. They may be referring to the fact that no ceasefire violations occurred during the observation phase of our monitoring exercise, at the time when staff members are in exposed positions on the front lines. We always register ceasefire violations when they occur in our presence. Otherwise we rely on information provided by local commanders. I would like to reiterate that we do not have the mandate to conduct investigations of incidents.”

He added: “In the six months following the April clashes, the Minsk Group Co-chairs have worked tirelessly to stabilize the situation and move the negotiation process forward, and the information provided through the monitoring exercises is an indispensable part of this process. These efforts continue.”