FMS OF ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN AGREE TO CONTINUE TALKS WITH MEDIATION OF THE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS
armradio.am
04.12.2008 10:43
The 16th sitting of the OSCE Ministerial Council is starting in
Helsinki today. 1 200 Foreign Ministers and delegates from 50 countries
will participate in the sitting.
Speaking at a news conference ahead of today’s start of the Ministerial
Council, OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Stubb said
the 2008 Finnish OSCE Chairmanship and the Helsinki meeting were not
"business as usual."
"For the first time in the history of the OSCE we have 50 ministers
present here," he said, adding that the importance of the meeting
was also evidenced by the 67 delegations, more than 1,200 delegates
and 300 accredited journalists who are scheduled to attend. "I am
looking forward to an eventful, exciting foreign ministers’ meeting
here in Helsinki."
Chairmanship will seek agreement on two regional declarations,
on Nagorno-Karabakh and Transdniestria, as well as on a dozen OSCE
decisions on a range of topics. Stubb said he was hopeful for progress
on a declaration on Nagorno-Karabakh.
Issues related to eth settlement of the Artsakh issue were discussed
during yesterday’s meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia
and Azerbaijan Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov in presence
of the three Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and the Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Offic e. According to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, the parties stressed the
importance of maintaining the positive atmosphere established as a
result of the meeting of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in
Saint Petersburg on June 6 and the constructive talks in Moscow on
November 2, as well as continuing the negotiations with the support
of the mediators to bring the positions of the parties closer and
resolve the issue in a peaceful way.