YEREVAN, AUGUST 1, ARMENPRESS. Official Baku does not fulfill the requirements of the document signed by him still in 1996. As reports "Armenpress", in an interview with Tert.am, a former Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, former representative of the Russian mission on Nagorno-Karabakh said he sees no other possible breakthrough in the current stalemate over Nagorno-Karabakh apart Azerbaijan’s willingness to demonstrate constructivism.

Vladimir Kazimirov, now a retired diplomat, made the remark as he addressed the recent fatal cross-border shoot-out that saw two Armenian servicemen killed on the Line of Contact. The diplomat said he doesn’t expect the increased border tension to escalate into a war but admitted that Azerbaijan has failed to abide by 1994 Ceasefire Accord, refusing to withdraw its armed forces from the Line of Contact.

“What’s even more, the Azerbaijani leadership – encouraged by [President] Ilham Aliyev – has pushed its defense positions closer [to areas under Armenian control]. So they are all the time heading closer to the frontline, increasing the likelihood of accidental - let alone intentional – incidents,” he said.

Commenting on the peace talks per se, the former mediator noted, “The negotiation process has failed to break the stalemate for so many years. To achieve that, we need a more constructive position by Azerbaijan, i.e. – its refusal to use force in the conflict settlement process. So why won’t Azerbaijan sign the agreement on refraining from the use of force? This is where the problem is hidden.”