OSCE Chairman-in-Office Special Representative on Karabakh conflict settlement.

Patrick Murphy, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office for the South Caucasus, says concrete results may be achieved in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process during this year.

In an interview to The Business Year magazine Murphy said the progress may be achieved only in case of political will of the conflicting parties and efforts of the international community.

‘As a special representative for the South Caucasus, I will do everything possible for promoting the conflict settlement. For it, I will consider the Irish experience, though, as it is known there are no similar conflicts,’ Murphy said.

He stressed that the OSCE Minsk group is the only format for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

Murphy reminded that the Minsk group, co-chaired by Russia, France and the USA, includes Belarus, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Turkey, Lithuania, Ireland, Ukraine, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

‘We back the Minsk group efforts aimed at working out an official peace treaty,’ the special representative said.

According to him, the number of death cases on the line of contact raises serious concern and demands immediate measures toward reinforcement of ceasefire regime.

‘The withdrawal of snipers and refraining from force or threat of using force as well as further OSCE monitoring will promote the increase of trust between the parties and ensure stability and security,’ he said.

Murphy stressed that the 2011 Sochi joint statement of Presidents Serzh Sargsyan, Ilham Aliyev and Dmitry Medvedev (now Russia’s PM) is another important step in the conflict settlement.