VAHAN HOVHANNISIAN HIGHLY ESTIMATES RESULTS OF WORK OF OSCE PA DELEGATION HEADED BY HIM

YEREVAN, JULY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. As a result of the Armenian delegation’s
efficient work at the OSCE PA summer session convened on July 3-7
in Brussels, all its initiatives, as well as all proposals on draft
resolutions discussed were adopted. Vahan Hovhannisian, head of the
Armenian delegation, RA NA Vice-Speaker, ARFD Bureau member, informed
about it at the July 10 press conference expressing his satisfaction
in this connection.

According to Vahan Hovhannisian, thanks to the delegation’s efforts
it was managed to prevent adoption of resolutions and proposals
not favorable for Armenia presented by the delegations of the
three neighbors, Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan. As a result,
no country at the Assembly supported these initiatives, except
the above-mentioned three countries that distinguished themselves
with active cooperation. By the way, 56 countries are members of
the Assembly, including Montenegro that has joined the Assembly
lately. "The resolutions or amendments proposed by us always have many
supporters, at that, these are countries that cannot be suspected of
regional interest," NA Vice-Speaker emphasized.

Hovhannisian mentioned that he and some delegation members, National
Unity faction head Artashes Geghamian and RPA faction member Samvel
Nikoyan, also took an active part in the work of the Assembly’s three
standing committees, where also "serious arguments took place."

As an example of his statement Vahan Hovhannisian attached a special
importance to some discussions in the Committee on Political Issues,
as a result of which for the first time it was managed to stipulate the
issue of nations’ rights in the resolution documents adopted by OSCE,
taking the referendum of Montenegro as a basis. In this connection
they also greeted the approach of Serbia recognizing the democratic
values, which "did not respond to the referendum of Montenegro with
tanks, planes or with another force, but recognized its results." "The
Assembly registered by voting that this is an excellent example for
finding a right balance between the immunity of borders and nations’
right of self-determination," V.Hovhannisian said at the same time
emphasizing that the above mentioned formulation of the adopted
resolution was "violently resisited" by the Azerbaijani and Georgian
delegations but in vain.

According to him, the Armenian side also managed to fail "two very hard
resolutions" proposed by the above mentioned two delegations. One of
them, in particular, proposed stipulating that the unsolved conflicts
should be solved by returning the disputable areas to the country, to
which it belong, so, as Vahan Hovhannisian characterized, this is an
"obvious obscenity." By the second draft the above mentioned two states
proposed registering that irrespective of the further status of Kosovo,
it cannot be a precedent for settlement of other similar conflicts."

According to him, another initiative of the two neighboring states was
liquidated, which proposed stipulating in the form of a resolution
that the national monorities are obliged to protect the territorial
integrity of the given country.