The United Kingdom has updated its implementation of the OSCE arms embargo concerning Armenia and Azerbaijan to better align with international obligations and current conditions on the ground, the UK Government has announced, Azernews reports.
According to the revised guidance, the arms embargo will now apply specifically to weapons, ammunition, and munitions that could be used on the land border between the two countries by military, police, security forces, and related government entities. These include items listed under entries ML1, ML2, ML3, and ML4 of the UK Military List, as specified in the Export Control Order 2008.
The UK’s prior interpretation from July 2, 2014, broadly restricted the supply of all military list equipment to these entities if it could be used either on the Armenia–Azerbaijan land border or in the former Garabagh region.
Under the new guidance, supplies of such equipment to non-state end-users—such as humanitarian agencies, peacekeeping operations, researchers, or media organisations—will not fall under the embargo, unless there is a clear risk of diversion to the state military or security forces operating in the border area.
This change brings the UK’s implementation into closer alignment with the 1992 declaration by the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE)—the OSCE’s predecessor—which called for a ban on “all deliveries of weapons and munitions to forces engaged in combat in the Garabagh area.”
The UK government emphasized that export and trade licence applications for Armenia and Azerbaijan will continue to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis under the UK’s Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. No export licences will be granted if such action would contradict these criteria.
The British Government reaffirmed its strong support for peace efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan and stated that the embargo’s implementation will remain under ongoing review in light of developments on the ground.
