OSCE CHAIRMAN-IN-OFFICE ENCOURAGED BY THE "POSITIVE MOMENTUM" IN THE KARABAKH TALKS

armradio.am
30.10.2009 11:17

The new Chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE), Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Thursday
said he was encouraged by positive momentum in the Nagorno-Karabakh
peace talks and expressed his support for ongoing efforts by the
OSCE’s Minsk Group to resolve the conflict.

In his first speech to the OSCE Permanent Council since taking over
as Chairman-in-Office on Oct. 6, Papandreou called on OSCE member
states to "enhance cooperation to address prevailing tensions in the
South Caucasus," and pledged to lend his "personal support" to the
American, French and Russian Minsk Group Co-Chairs "in their quest
to achieve a long-lasting peace in the South-Caucasus region."

He referred to protracted conflicts like the one in Nagorno-Karabakh,
saying that "they are potential sources of discord, and we cannot
afford to leave them on the back burner. The war in Georgia has proven
this point."

"Protracted conflicts have stubbornly plagued the OSCE area for
decades now. "We are encouraged by the positive momentum that the
recent frequent meetings of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
have created," he added.

"We know that they are potential sources of discord, and we cannot
afford to leave them on the back burner. I would like to pay
tribute to the three Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group, as well as to my
personal representative for the conflict dealt with by the Minsk
Group Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk. I would like to pay tribute to
their tireless efforts to find a mutually acceptable solution to the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue," he said.