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PRESS RELEASE
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
Contact: Information Desk
Tel: (374-10) 52-35-31
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OSCE Ministerial Adopts Ministerial Statement on Nagorno Karabakh

On Tuesday December 5, the 14th Ministerial Meeting of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe concluded in Brussels. Key on
the OSCE agenda this year were OSCE reforms. The OSCE Ministerial
Council adopted a decision on strengthening the effectiveness of
the OSCE, as well as other decisions on terrorism, organized crime,
small arms and weapons of mass destruction, economic and environmental
matters, and human rights, particularly on combating trafficking in
human beings. On regional conflicts, Nagorno Karabakh was the only
conflict around which there was agreement.

The Ministerial Statement on Nagorno Karabakh began, "We are
encouraged that negotiations in 2006, facilitated by the Co-Chairs of
the OSCE Minsk Group and supported by the OSCE Chairman in Office,
have brought the sides closer to agreement on the basic principles
for the resolution on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict." The Statement
also referred to the recent OSCE Mission to the region to observe
fires and their affects. "We call on the sides, with the assistance
of the international community, to extend co-operation to conduct
an environmental operation to suppress the fires in the affected
territories and to overcome detrimental consequences. These measures
can constitute significant steps toward restoring confidence between
the sides. The OSCE is available to assist," it said.

The Armenian delegation at the Conference was headed by Armenia’s
Minister of Foreign Affairs Vartan Oskanian. He noted that the
Statement fairly reflects the current status of the negotiations and
welcomed the OSCE’s continuing commitment to helping the sides secure
a lasting resolution.

In his annual speech at the Ministerial, Minister Oskanian focused on
OSCE reforms, including that of ODIHR, and the importance of the OSCE’s
field missions. Of course, he also spoke about Armenia’s development,
and the progress of the Nagorno Karabakh negotiations process.

On Nagorno Karabakh, the Minister said, "No one wants a lasting
settlement to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict more than we do. The last
meeting between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan gives us
hope that agreement may yet be found even on those principles around
which we still don’t see eye to eye. We know that a lasting solution
will depend on the security and status of the people of Nagorno
Karabakh. That is how this conflict began – when their security was
violated, and their right to self-determination trampled over. The
principles under discussion seek to satisfy the right of the people
of Nagorno Karabakh to self-determination while at the same time
eliminating the consequences of the conflict. We anticipate that
indeed Azerbaijan will find the will to acknowledge and respect the
right of the people of Nagorno Karabakh to determine its own future,
its own status, its own security arrangements."

He continued, "In just a few days, Nagorno Karabakh will hold a
referendum to adopt a Constitution. During this decade and a half,
they have built political institutions, through elections they
have selected their own authorities and developed a legislative
framework. They recognized the need for a basic law, and recognized
that a referendum is the only acceptable way to collectively adopt that
basic law. For the international community to dismiss their democratic
aspirations and blame them for choosing to behave democratically
is counterproductive. Azerbaijan claims that exercising a vote is
an obstruction to the peace process. It can’t be further from the
truth. What really obstructs the process is their overreaction to
Karabakh’s democratic activities, their refusal to engage Nagorno
Karabakh in peace talks, their repeated militaristic calls and their
persistent efforts to sidetrack the Minsk Group negotiations process."

In the margins of the OSCE Ministerial, the Minister held bilateral
meetings with US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried, the
Foreign Minister of Luxembourg Mr. Jean Asselborn, the State Minister
of European Affairs of Ireland Mr. Noel Treacy, the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Estonia Mr. Urmas Paet, the Foreign Minister of
Hungary, Dr. Kinga Goncz. The Minister also held meetings with the
Mr. Bernardino Leon, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Spain
which will assume the chairmanship of the OSCE in 2007, and Mr. Manuel
Lobo Antunes, the State Secretary for European Affairs of Portugal,
which will assume the Presidency of the European Union in the second
half of 2008.

Minister Oskanian also met with Mr. Goran Lennmarker, President of the
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Ambassador Christian Strohal, Director
of ODIHR and Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, the Secretary General of
the OSCE.