KARABAKH EXPERT SUGGESTS MEASURES TO PRECLUDE FURTHER CEASE-FIRE VIOLATIONS

Masis Mayilian, the former deputy foreign minister of the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh who ran unsuccessfully in the July 2007 presidential election (see "RFE/RL Newsline," July 20, 2007), was quoted by panarmenian.net on March 11 as saying that since the cease-fire was signed in May 1994, Azerbaijani troops have consistently sought to advance their positions closer to Armenian lines, and that cease-fire violations such as those that cost the lives of several servicemen last week generally occur at those points along the Line of Contact where the positions of the two sides are closest. Mayilian called for a return to the positions the two sides occupied in 1994 and for the dispatch to the conflict zone of additional OSCE observers. On March 10, a spokesman for the Karabakh Defense Ministry categorically denied Azerbaijani claims that Karabakh Armenian forces opened fire on Azerbaijani villages in Agdam Raion on March 8-9, killing two civilians and injuring two more, according to Mediamax as reposted by Groong (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 10, 2008). LF
RFE/RL Newsline, Wednesday, March 12, 2008 Volume 12 Number 49