Murder of tractor driver jeopardizes trilateral agreements on Nagorno-Karabakh

The killing of Aram Tepnants by a shot from the Azerbaijani side has jeopardized the plans of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to visit the parties in conflict, the Nagorno-Karabakh MPs have stated. The Armenian General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) has announced a gross violation of the trilateral agreement on Karabakh.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Aram Tepnants, a resident of the Martakert District, died on October 9 as a result of a sniper's shot from the Azerbaijani Army. The deceased tractor driver worked in the field; a Russian peacekeeper was next to him.

"The incident is a grossest violation of the trilateral agreement on Karabakh, and perpetrators must be prosecuted. Otherwise, it is impossible to create guarantees that such tragic incidents will be excluded in the future. It is necessary to clearly indicate the party responsible for the violation with all the ensuing consequences," the spokesman of the Armenia GPO has stated.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Parliament has issued a statement on the assassination of Aram Tepnants, in which the MPs treat the Azerbaijan's actions as "a terror act" and strongly condemn the Azerbaijan's aggressive behaviour," by which it is trying to neutralize the mission of the Russian peacemaking forces."

"The terror act was committed amid the plans of the OSCE Minsk Group to visit Yerevan and Baku, including Stepanakert. Such provocative actions should affect not only the Russian Federation, but also the co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, the USA and France. We urge the Group co-chairs to develop appropriate mechanisms to prosecute those responsible for the aggression and take measures to prevent further violations of the ceasefire regime," the MPs of the National Assembly (Parliament) of Nagorno-Karabakh have stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 11, 2021 at 11:25 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.