Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received today Ambassador Gunter Bechler, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office  for the South Caucasus.

Minister Nalbandian briefed the Special Representative of the OSCE German Presidency on the situation established as a result of the recent large-scale military actions unleashed by Azerbaijan –and the ongoing ceasefire violations.

Ambassador Bechler noted that the OSCE German Presidency is strongly concerned by the escalation of situation along the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan and expressed condolences over the human losses as a result of the military actions.

During the meeting the parties exchanged views on the perspectives of the negotiation process under way within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship. Edward Nalbandian presented Armenia’s position on the settlement of the conflict.

The interlocutors stressed the importance of unequivocal support to the efforts of the co-chairing countries targeted at the exceptionally peaceful resolution of the issue.

Minister Nalbandian said “Azerbaijan keeps manipulating the negotiation process, while the proposals of the co-chairing countries are well-known and clearly formulated.” He added that “the realization of the right of the Artsakh people to self-determination is the cornerstone, and Armenia has declared on many occasions that it is ready to continue the negotiations on that basis.”