Armenian experts claim need for continuous monitoring in Karabakh conflict zone

The introduction of new mechanisms for monitoring across the entire front line will contribute to identification of violators of the ceasefire. This opinion was expressed by Armenian experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that at night of April 2, the situation in the Karabakh conflict zone was escalated. The parties to the conflict were engaged in combat actions with the use of tanks, multiple launch rocket systems, and aircrafts, which resulted in a large number of victims. On April 5, the sides to the conflict declared a truce; however, they periodically accuse each other of violation of agreements on ceasefire.

On May 11, the OSCE mission conducted enhanced monitoring in the Karabakh conflict zone. It was the first monitoring after the escalation of the conflict in this April. The observers did not register violations of the ceasefire, although the parties to the conflict regularly allege violation of the ceasefire.

The introduction of new monitoring mechanisms will help to register the violations of the ceasefire regime, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by political analyst Ara Papyan, the head of the centre "Modus Vivendi".

In particular, according to Ara Papyan, it is necessary to install video cameras, special equipment, and monitoring tools along the entire front line. He believes that the implementation of those mechanisms will reveal which of the parties to the conflict first violate the ceasefire.

"In general, the cases of violation of the ceasefire are observed at nights and in the mornings, while the OSCE mission conducts monitoring in the afternoons, when the situation on the border between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan is usually relatively calm," Ara Papyan has noted.

He believes that in such circumstances, the observers are unable to identify the violations of the ceasefire.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.