OSCE Representative describes shooting incident on Armenia, Azerbaijan border

TBILISI, 22 August 2003 - Following an incident on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan on 19 August, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office issued the following statement on Friday:

On 19 August 2003 a Monitoring of the front line was held on the border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Monitoring took place in the area between the village of Chinari in Armenia and the village of Aghdam in Azerbaijan.

On the Azerbaijani side the Monitoring was conducted by the Personal Representative of the Chairman in Office of the OSCE, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, and two of his Field Assistants. On the Armenian side the monitoring was conducted by three Field Assistants. Officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence and local military commanders of the two sides also took part in the Monitoring. Both sides were in constant radio communication throughout the Monitoring.

During the Monitoring a number of shots were heard. It was not possible to determine whether the firing came from the Armenian or Azerbaijani side or both. The shots were fired at some distance from the Monitoring site. The firing point or points could not be seen and the type of weapon or weapons used could not be identified.

As a result of the firing, Ambassador Kasprzyk took the decision to abort the Monitoring.

He expresses his disappointment that this unfortunate incident affected the course of the monitoring and placed in danger the OSCE teams and escort personnel.

It is expected that both sides will now conduct a thorough investigation into this incident. Ambassador Kasprzyk considers that it would be useful for military representatives from both sides, at the appropriate level, to consult with each other as part of this investigation.

Despite reports which have appeared in the press, it is stressed that no conclusions have yet been drawn as to who was to blame for the firing.

The Personal Representative's mandate is to represent the CiO in issues related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, assist the CiO in achieving an agreement on the cessation of the armed conflict and in creating conditions for the deployment of an OSCE peace-keeping operation, in order to facilitate a lasting comprehensive political settlement of the conflict.