Armenian minister, Council of Europe leader discuss regional cooperation
Noyan Tapan news agency
5 Jul 04
Yerevan, 5 July: The secretary-general of the Council of Europe, Bruno
Haller, briefed Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan on 5 July on
his meetings with representatives of the Armenian authorities,
political parties, opposition and public organizations. He said that
the main aim of his visit was to familiarize himself with what was
going on in Armenia, especially in the light of PACE’s April
resolution. [In April PACE gave Armenia until September to sort out
its domestic political problems; this included ensuring freedom of
speech and assembly.] Haller expressed his hope that the authorities
and opposition would be able to find a way out of the current
situation before the National Assembly’s September session in order to
continue parliament’s normal work.
At the PACE secretary-general’s request, Oskanyan briefly touched on
Armenian-Turkish bilateral meetings in Istanbul during the NATO summit
and trilateral meetings of the foreign ministers, with the
participation of Azerbaijan, the Armenian Foreign Ministry press
service told Noyan Tapan news agency.
The meeting also touched on the Nagornyy Karabakh settlement process.
Oskanyan noted the importance of measures to foster trust and of
regional cooperation programmes, supported by the Council of Europe,
to develop the South Caucasus. In response, Haller stressed the need
for cooperation between the regional parliaments, adding that his
mission was to stimulate interparliamentary dialogue.