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Despite a deadly spike in the confrontation over Nagorno-Karabakh and limited progress overall, we persist in striving towards peaceful and durable settlements to the conflict, reads the, the Annual Report 2016 of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The document, published on the organization website, states that 2016 was a difficult year, with instability and the highest number of casualties on the front lines since the ceasefire came into force.

“Following violent clashes in April, and at the request of the sides, the Office of the Personal Representative conducted eight full-day visits in support of humanitarian operations for the search and retrieval of fallen servicemen located between the front-line positions. The procedures used for monitoring exercises were applied to secure the safety of the sides’ search teams and of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), present under their own mandate. During this period, the Office kept the Chairmanship, the co-chairs of the Minsk Group (MG) and the MG itself informed about developments on an ongoing basis. Throughout 2016, the Personal Representative and his team met regularly with representatives of the sides, including at the highest military and political levels, and kept the Chairmanship and MG co-chairs informed through regular reports,” said the report.

It is noted that the Office of the Personal Representative supported the Chairperson-in-Office’s visit to the South Caucasus in June and two visits by the MG co-chairs to the region in April and October. The Personal Representative also supported the co-chairs in a series of separate meetings with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in February, May, June and September, as well as joint meetings in July and December, and helped them prepare for the meetings of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in May and June.

“Together with the co-chairs, he participated in briefings with ministers of foreign affairs and senior diplomats in Washington, Berlin, Moscow and Vienna, as well as regular briefings for the MG and the Chairperson-in-Office. The Personal Representative also continued to co-operate throughout the year with representatives of international organizations, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the ICRC,” the report.

It reminds that with the support of the sides, the Personal Representative and his team conducted 22 monitoring exercises, five on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and 17 on the line of contact. Representatives of the High-Level Planning Group were also able to take part in four monitoring exercises in February, May, July and October. In addition, representatives of the Chairmanship took part in monitoring exercises in May and October.