OSCE Calls for Restraint on Armenia-Azerbaijan Border

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) urges Azerbaijan and Armenia to refrain from the use of force and engage in meaningful dialogue to resolve the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh. This was stated to Armenpress by Bartosz Kępinski, spokesperson for the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Zbigniew Rau and second secretary of Poland’s permanent mission to the OSCE, in response to a question regarding the military provocation and ceasefire violations by Azerbaijani armed forces on the eastern direction of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border on January 11, which resulted in two Armenian casualties.

“We are closely monitoring the situation in the South Caucasus. We call on Azerbaijan and Armenia to avoid the use of force and to engage in meaningful dialogue to resolve the dispute surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Poland, as the chairing country of the OSCE, intends to work with partners to renew and strengthen our efforts aimed at establishing lasting peace and sustainable development in the region. In this regard, we will support the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs,” noted the spokesperson of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, at around 15:15 on January 11, Azerbaijani armed forces opened fire on Armenian combat positions located in the Verin Shorja area of Gegharkunik Province, resulting in one soldier sustaining a medium-level gunshot wound. At approximately 17:30, the Azerbaijani side resumed fire on Armenian positions in the mentioned area of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, utilizing artillery and unmanned aerial vehicles. The Armenian side undertook appropriate countermeasures. At that time, there were reports of three injured soldiers.

Later in the day, the Ministry of Defense sadly announced that two servicemen of the Armenian Armed Forces from unit N had been killed due to the provocation by Azerbaijani forces: Private Arthur Artemi Mkhitaryan (born 2002) and Junior Sergeant Rudik Rafiki Garibyan (born 2002). Two more soldiers were injured, but their lives are not in danger.

Subsequently, the Ministry of Defense reported that the body of Soldier Vahan Vachagani Babayan (born 2003) was discovered at midnight on January 11 in the intensive firefight zone that began after the provocations by Azerbaijani forces along the eastern direction of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, with a fatal gunshot wound. The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia shares the heavy grief of loss and expresses condolences to the family members and relatives of the fallen soldier.