PRESS RELEASE
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
Contact: Information Desk
Tel: (374-1) 52-35-31
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Minister Oskanian Meets with NATO Secretary General, Discusses NATO Baku
Exercises
During a two-day working visit to Brussels, Armenia¹s Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian met with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
on Monday, September 13. The meeting took place just as Azerbaijan
continued to reject Armenian officers¹ participation in NATO Best
Effort Exercises to be held in Baku this week. The Secretary General
stated NATO¹s decision to cancel the exercises if Azerbaijan continued
to reject the participation of a member state. Minister Oskanian
welcomed NATO¹s principled stance on the matter, regretting this
missed opportunity for regional cooperation. Armenia, the Minister
said, remained ready to participate in and host NATO activities.
The Secretary General stated his satisfaction at Armenia¹s level
of engagement in NATO¹s Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, as well
as Armenia¹s recent decision to enter NATO¹s Individual Partnership
Action Plan.
Minister Oskanian said Armenia welcomes NATO¹s Istanbul declaration
in June to place greater emphasis on cooperation with the Caucasus
and Central Asia. The Secretary General¹s appointment of a Special
Representative to the Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as a Liaison
Officer in the three countries of the Caucasus is certain to strengthen
such cooperation, the two agreed. The Minister also said now that the
first Armenian contingent has returned from Kosovo, Armenia expects to
continue its participation in KFOR. Armenia looks forward to hosting
the Euro Atlantic Partnership Council¹s Seminar on Contribution to a
More Favorable Security Environment thru Public Information, to be held
in Yerevan this October, as well as the Annual Session of the Atlantic
Political Advisory Group of the EAPC, also in Yerevan, in April 2005.
Armenia¹s minister briefed the Secretary General on the status of
the Nagorno Karabakh peace process.
Minister Oskanian also met with US Ambassador to NATO, Nicholas
Burns. The two discussed Armenia¹s engagement in NATO programs,
regional security concerns, as well as issues related to conflict
resolution and confidence building.
On the same day, the Minister also had meetings scheduled with Belgian
Foreign Minister Karel de Goucht, as well as the European Union
Special Representative to the Caucasus, Ambassador Heikki Talvitie.