Minsk group concerned over provocative statements

The OSCE Minsk group co-chairmen facilitating the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia have expressed their concern over recent “inflammatory rhetoric”, and urged both sides to refrain from provocative statements and promote and maintain what they call “an atmosphere conducive to peace and favorable to substantive negotiations”.

“The Co-chairs noted with concern that recent provocative statements, inflammatory rhetoric and possible steps intended to change the situation on the ground in tangible ways could undermine the settlement process”, the statement reads.

Yerevan escalated tensions with Baku in late May, when Armenia held a presidential inauguration in the Nagorno-Karabakh territories, calling it “a democratic process.”

“The fact that the Armenian Foreign Ministry called the show around the so-called inauguration in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan a “democratic process” testifies not only the true nature of this aggressor state but also how far it is from the concept of democracy”, Azerbaijan Foreign Affairs spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva said in a statement on 21 May.