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 “If you want peace, you cannot gun each other,” Audronius Ažubalis, OSCE CiO and Lithuanian FM, stated Friday in a news conference referring to the withdrawal of the snipers from the Line of Contact. According to him, the withdrawal of the snipers would contribute to ease the tension and said he was happy Armenia also supported the idea.

“NK conflict must be settled through peace, and it has no alternative. Let’s move the snipers from the contact line, ease the tension, which will serve basis for peaceful negotiations. OSCE MG should insist upon the parties to implement their obligations. I offer my condolences for the victims caused by the ceasefire regime violation, the agreements made in Sochi should be followed. I also hail the process of exchange of the captives,” Lithuanian FM said.

He said he was holding negotiations with the Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities over the need to withdraw the snipers. In this respect, according to him, OSCE doesn’t own any binding mechanism. “Here, in Armenia, I offered my colleague maybe Armenia would do the first step and would withdraw the snipers. The recommendation was more like an improvisation but anyway I did it. I think, that would be the best demonstration of goodwill by Armenia.”

Armenian FM Edward Nalbandian surely didn’t left Ažubalis’ statement without answer. He stated that it has been many times urged from the international tribunes to withdraw the snipers, and both Armenia and Karabakh have accepted the recommendation to move the snipers.

“Armenia has also approved the recommendations to reinforce the ceasefire regime and to hold an investigation. We also support the agreement to refuse the use of force. I would like to remind that recently, on the eve of Sochi meeting and after that, and even yesterday, when the representatives of the co-chairing states and Chairperson-in-Office are in the region, Azerbaijani snipers have killed another Armenian soldier in Karabakh. Much noise is created over the death of a 5-year-old child, which was technically impossible from Karabakh. All those steps are made to increase the tension in the region. We support, on the basis of positive atmosphere created in Sochi, the continuation of the negotiations towards the resolution of the conflict,” Nalbandian declared.