YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Congressman Frank Pallone, co-chair of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, commented on the recent violation of the new agreement on a humanitarian ceasefire in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone.

“We would have definitive knowledge of which side violated the US-brokered ceasefire today if Azeris would allow international observers to monitor the line of contact, as prescribed by the 2015 Royce-Engel agreement”, the Congressman said on Twitter, adding that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo must insist on this.

US senior legislators Ed Royce and Eliot Engel authored a bipartisan in 2015 letter urging the State Department to adopt a new approach to peace in Artsakh. The letter specifically called on to work to implement three concrete, accountability-based steps toward peace:

1. An agreement by all sides to not deploy snipers, heavy arms, or any new weapons along the line-of-contact separating Artsakh and Azerbaijani forces.
2. The deployment of OSCE-monitored, advanced gunfire-locator systems and sound-ranging equipment to determine the source of attacks along the line-of-contact.
3. The introduction of additional OSCE observers along the line-of-contact to better monitor cease-fire violations.

On October 26, a new agreement by the US mediation on humanitarian ceasefire in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone was achieved, which was supposed to come into effect at 08:00. However, 45 minutes after the ceasefire entered into force, Azerbaijan launched artillery strikes at the Artsakh positions in the north-eastern direction. Another violation was recorded at 09:10, as the Azerbaijani side fired artillery shells, targeting the Artsakh positions in the south-eastern direction. Till now Azerbaijan continues ignoring the new truce deal.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan