Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06YEREVAN922
2006-07-11 06:14:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Yerevan
Cable title:
OSCE: "NOTHING TO" AZERI CLAIMS OF ARMENIAN ARSON
how-toVZCZCXRO4881 RR RUEHDBU DE RUEHYE #0922 1920614 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 110614Z JUL 06 FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3497 INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1078 RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0366 RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0478 RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0084
C O N F I D E N T I A L YEREVAN 000922
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, EUR/SNEC
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV AJ AM
SUBJECT: OSCE: "NOTHING TO" AZERI CLAIMS OF ARMENIAN ARSON
AROUND N-K
REF: A) YEREVAN 851 B) BAKU 946
Classified By: Amb. John M. Evans for reasons 1.4 (b, d).
-------
SUMMARY
-------
C O N F I D E N T I A L YEREVAN 000922
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, EUR/SNEC
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV AJ AM
SUBJECT: OSCE: "NOTHING TO" AZERI CLAIMS OF ARMENIAN ARSON
AROUND N-K
REF: A) YEREVAN 851 B) BAKU 946
Classified By: Amb. John M. Evans for reasons 1.4 (b, d).
--------------
SUMMARY
--------------
1. (C) There is "nothing to" the claim that Armenians had set
fires to destroy Azeri property in the occupied territories
surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, according to Andrzej Kasprzyk,
special representative of the OSCE chairman-in-office (CiO)
on the Minsk Conference. The OSCE sent a monitoring group to
the fire zone in June at the request of the N-K "Ministry of
Foreign Affairs." Kasprzyk told the Ambassador privately
that he would tell Azeri FM Mammadyarov of the group's
finding, but would not speak publicly about it.
Nevertheless, the Armenian press reported on the monitoring
group's discoveries without attribution. End Summary.
2. (C) Kasprzyk told the Ambassador that there were fires in
the disputed area every year, and that this year's early
summer heat and winds exacerbated the problem. He said the
fires had burned unoccupied grasslands, and had not harmed
the pomegranate trees that stood in their paths. According
to Kasprzyk, if the Azeris were attempting to levy an
accusatory rebuttal to the reported destruction of an
Armenian cemetery in Nakhichevan, they had failed. Kasprzyk
said he would tell "the truth" to Mammadyarov when he saw him
in Baku. (Note: He is in Baku now. Post reached a member of
the OSCE CiO mission staff there July 10, but he was
reluctant to discuss the issue over the phone from
Azerbaijan. The staffer, Peter Keay, said that the mission
had not issued any public statements about the monitoring
results, and did not plan to do so.)
3. (C) The Armenian media picked up the story, reporting July
6 that the monitoring group "did not discover evidence to
support the Azerbaijani side's allegations of deliberate
arsons of villages on the territory controlled by the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic." The article further stated that
N-K "Ministry of Defense" representatives who accompanied the
monitoring group pointed out burnt fields three kilometers
behind the Azeri front line. (Comment: The last statement
appears to be an attempt on the part of NKR officials to
emphasize "Deputy Foreign Minister" Masis Mailyan's
contention that the fires actually were caused by Azeri
tracer bullets (ref A). End Comment.)
EVANS
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, EUR/SNEC
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV AJ AM
SUBJECT: OSCE: "NOTHING TO" AZERI CLAIMS OF ARMENIAN ARSON
AROUND N-K
REF: A) YEREVAN 851 B) BAKU 946
Classified By: Amb. John M. Evans for reasons 1.4 (b, d).
--------------
SUMMARY
--------------
1. (C) There is "nothing to" the claim that Armenians had set
fires to destroy Azeri property in the occupied territories
surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, according to Andrzej Kasprzyk,
special representative of the OSCE chairman-in-office (CiO)
on the Minsk Conference. The OSCE sent a monitoring group to
the fire zone in June at the request of the N-K "Ministry of
Foreign Affairs." Kasprzyk told the Ambassador privately
that he would tell Azeri FM Mammadyarov of the group's
finding, but would not speak publicly about it.
Nevertheless, the Armenian press reported on the monitoring
group's discoveries without attribution. End Summary.
2. (C) Kasprzyk told the Ambassador that there were fires in
the disputed area every year, and that this year's early
summer heat and winds exacerbated the problem. He said the
fires had burned unoccupied grasslands, and had not harmed
the pomegranate trees that stood in their paths. According
to Kasprzyk, if the Azeris were attempting to levy an
accusatory rebuttal to the reported destruction of an
Armenian cemetery in Nakhichevan, they had failed. Kasprzyk
said he would tell "the truth" to Mammadyarov when he saw him
in Baku. (Note: He is in Baku now. Post reached a member of
the OSCE CiO mission staff there July 10, but he was
reluctant to discuss the issue over the phone from
Azerbaijan. The staffer, Peter Keay, said that the mission
had not issued any public statements about the monitoring
results, and did not plan to do so.)
3. (C) The Armenian media picked up the story, reporting July
6 that the monitoring group "did not discover evidence to
support the Azerbaijani side's allegations of deliberate
arsons of villages on the territory controlled by the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic." The article further stated that
N-K "Ministry of Defense" representatives who accompanied the
monitoring group pointed out burnt fields three kilometers
behind the Azeri front line. (Comment: The last statement
appears to be an attempt on the part of NKR officials to
emphasize "Deputy Foreign Minister" Masis Mailyan's
contention that the fires actually were caused by Azeri
tracer bullets (ref A). End Comment.)
EVANS