“We are loyal to our OSCE commitments and ready to continue implementing the office’s programs for further development of our country,” Deputy Minister said at the reception dedicated to the OSCE Office in Yerevan

Touching upon the reasons that Yerevan Office was closed, Ashot Hovakimyan said, “Extending the office’s mandate provide impossible due to abuse of the consensus principle by just one member of the OSCE – Azerbaijan.”

“Azerbaijan is realizing a clear and consistent policy of erasing field representation of the OSCE in South Caucasus after closing the organization’s office in Baku,” Deputy Minister Hovakimyan stated.

He stressed that the office in Yerevan embodied the OSCE model that Armenia wants to see.

“The OSCE Office in Yerevan formed a cooperation platform in Armenia and engaged offices of international organizations and accredited embassies on that platform. I am quite certain you will take new experience and knowledge with you as you leave Armenia, and most importantly, an understanding that you helped Armenia and its people and became a part of our country through your work,” Ashot Hovakimyan stated.