Sharmazanov to OSCE Minsk Group: Sometimes saying nothing is better  than speaking  

ArmInfo. It is not good that the OSCE Minsk Group reacted to the Azeri sabotage attack on the Armenian border two weeks after the incident, Vice Speaker of  Armenian Parliament Eduard Sharmazanov has told ArmInfo, when  commenting on the OSCE Minsk Group's January 9 statement regarding  the latest Azeri sabotage attack in Tavush province of Armenia.   

"However, if the Co-Chairs' response was to be like their latest  statement, they had better keep silence," Sharmazanov says. He notes  that the Co-Chairs' statement, which equalizes the provocateur and  the party striving for peace, fails to contribute to maintenance of  stability in the region and encourages Baku to take new aggressive  steps.   

To note, CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha strongly criticized  the Azeri sabotage attack on the Armenian border in Tavush province  on 29 Dec 2016. He qualified Azerbaijan's actions as a provocation,  and also recalled the April events in Artsakh, defining the latter as  the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. This statement caused Baku's  indignation. A few days later, Nikolay Bordyuzha was removed from  office.   

When commenting on the opinion that Bordyuzha was removed from office  due to his statement, Sharmazanov says that these two facts have  nothing to do with each other. "The decision that Bordyuzha would  step down in early 2017 was taken during the CSTO summit in St.  Petersburg in December, a few days before Bordyuzha's statement,"  Sharmazanov says.   

To recall, on January 9 the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group  (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti  of France, and Richard Hoagland of the United States), released the  following statement: "Baku and Yerevan continue to accuse each other  of a December 29, 2016 attempted incursion on the  Armenian-Azerbaijani border resulting in casualties.  Armenian Armed  Forces are still holding the body of an Azerbaijan serviceman killed  in the fighting. Violations of the ceasefire are unacceptable and are  contrary to the acknowledged commitments of the Parties, who bear  full responsibility, not to use force. The Co-Chairs urge the leaders  of Armenia and Azerbaijan to strictly observe the agreements reached  during summits in Vienna and St. Petersburg in 2016, including  obligations to finalize in the shortest possible time an OSCE  investigative mechanism. The Co-Chairs also urge the return, without  delay, of human remains, in accord with the agreements of the  Astrakhan Summit of 2010, bearing in mind the exclusively  humanitarian nature of this issue. We call upon the Parties to cease  mutual accusations and undertake all necessary measures to stabilize  the situation on the ground. The Co-Chairs extend their condolences  to the families of the fallen soldiers and to all Armenians and  Azerbaijanis for whom hopes for the New Year have been darkened with  the grief of senseless loss."

To note, on December 29 morning, the Azeri armed forces attempted a  sabotage attack on the southeastern section of the Azeri-Armenian  border near Chinari village of Tavush province of Armenia. Three  Armenian servicemen were killed, while the adversary lost 12  servicemen.