WASHINGTON/MOSCOW/PARIS, 7 December 2021 - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, and French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian, representing the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, express support for the resumption of direct dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan under the auspices of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs. The Co-Chair countries call on the sides to continue the dialogue between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan begun at meetings held in New York in September and Paris in November, as well as to continue contacts at the leadership level to promote a lasting and sustainable peace in the region.
The Co-Chair countries call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to refrain from inflammatory rhetoric and provocative actions and to implement in full the commitments they undertook on 9 November 2020 and reconfirmed on 26 November 2021 in statements made by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, and President of the Russian Federation and other jointly agreed ceasefire arrangements. The Co-Chair countries call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to continue their engagement under Co-Chair auspices to make concrete progress on humanitarian issues — including, inter alia, detainees, demining, missing persons, voluntary return of displaced persons, and the protection of historic and cultural sites, and to work constructively to resolve other outstanding issues, such as border delimitation and demarcation and the restoration of economic and transportation links. The Co-Chair countries also note with concern recent incidents on the non-demarcated Armenia-Azerbaijan border and reaffirm that the use or threat of force to resolve border disputes is unacceptable. The Co-Chair countries also remind Armenia and Azerbaijan of their obligation to comply with the requirements of international humanitarian law and urge the sides to lift immediately all restrictions on international humanitarian organizations accessing conflict-affected areas and populations.
The Co-Chair countries encourage the sides to welcome the Co-Chairs to the region as soon as possible to allow them to assess the situation on the ground first-hand, to make tangible progress in implementing humanitarian initiatives discussed at the meetings noted above, and to reach agreement on an agenda for future engagements. They also reiterate their strong support for the continuing work of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chair in Office (PRCiO) in the region and encourage the sides to cooperate fully with his efforts.
The Co-Chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group reaffirm their commitment to working with the sides to find comprehensive solutions to all remaining issues related to or resulting from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in accordance with their mandate in order to promote a secure, stable, prosperous and peaceful future for the South Caucasus region.
On the morning of 7 December, the armed formations in Luhansk region denied the SMM passage to government-controlled areas twice and once delayed its passage. These SMM patrols were travelling from non-government-controlled areas.
The first denial occurred at 09:00, at the checkpoint near the southern edge of the disengagement area near Zolote. The second denial occurred at 11:05, at a checkpoint of the armed formations on road T-0504 about 1.5km south-west of Molodizhne. On the first occasion members of the armed formations cited a “lack of security guarantees”.
At 09:42, the passage of another SMM patrol travelling through the checkpoint of the armed formations south of the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge was delayed for about 33 minutes. Members of the armed formations cited a “lack of prior notification”.
For recent restrictions faced by the Mission when crossing the contact line, see SMM Spot Reports 27/2021, 28/2021, 29/2021, 30/2021, 31/2021, 32/2021, 33/2021, 34/2021 and 35/2021.
The Mission again notes that such denials and delays not only restrict the SMM’s freedom of movement across the contact line, but also prevent the SMM’s logistical operations, which are essential for the effective functioning of the Mission.
The OSCE Permanent Council Decision No. 1117 specifies that the SMM shall have safe and secure access throughout Ukraine. Unrestricted and unconditional access to all areas is essential to ensure effective monitoring and reporting of the security situation, as well as other mandated tasks. The mandate also tasks the Mission to report on any restrictions of its freedom of movement or other impediments to fulfilment of its mandate.
Aujourd’hui, l’entreprise algérienne chargée de l’exploitation du réseau autoroutier, l’Algérienne des autoroutes (ADA), a annoncé la fermeture momentanée de l’autoroute Est-Ouest dans son tronçon reliant deux communes de la wilaya d’Ain Defla.
Il s’agit, en effet, de Khemis Miliana et Boumedfaa, respectivement à 20 km et 60 km du chef-lieu de la wilaya en question.
Dans un communiqué, la même source a confirmé que dans le cadre des travaux d’achèvement du projet de la quatrième rocade vers Alger : le tronçon Khemis Miliana – Djendel, qui passe par l’autoroute Est-Ouest de Khemis Miliana (Ain Sultan), wilaya d’Ain Defla, l’autoroute sera temporairement fermée à la circulation dans les deux sens : Alger-Oran et Oran-Alger.
Deux fermetures temporaires prévuesSelon la même source, deux fermetures sont prévues à cet effet, à partir de ce weekend. Pour la première fermeture, elle est prévue à partir du vendredi 10 décembre, à 06 heures du matin, au dimanche 12 décembre à 06 heures du matin.
Quant à la deuxième, elle est programmée à partir du vendredi 17 décembre 2021 à 06 heures du matin au dimanche 19 décembre à la même heure.
Sur ce, un système de déviation de la circulation sera mis en place de l’autoroute à la route nationale 04. Pour les conducteurs qui vont dans le sens Alger-Oran, leur trafic sera détourné au niveau de l’échangeur autoroutier vers Boumedfaa pour reprendre l’échangeur de Khemis Miliana afin de retrouver l’autoroute.
S’agissant des conducteurs dans le sens Oran vers la capitale Alger, ils devront dévier via l’échangeur de Khemis Miliana pour reprendre ensuite l’autoroute par l’échangeur de Boumedfaa.
L’article Est-Ouest : fermeture momentanée d’un tronçon de l’autoroute est apparu en premier sur .