Foreign Minister of Armenia:

The OSCE MG co-chair states go on dealing with settlement of Nagornyy Karabakh conflict in their present status and format, Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandyan, said in an interview with Armenian TV channels.

"Undoubtedly, they have to continue the negotiating process on reaching of accord on the basic principles and to speed up the process of their coordination, taking into account the work implemented earlier for making the reaching of the key accord possible. The atmosphere of creation of mutual trust will positively affect coordination of the basic principles. However, even in this case, a great work and mediation of the co-chair states are needed for formation of the document. It is very much important for Azerbaijan not to hamper creation of the atmosphere of mutual trust, like earlier, otherwise the process will fail", - Nalbandyan said.

He also added that for creation of the atmosphere of trust it is important to investigate the machinery of incidents on the line of contact, to which the Azerbaijani party always reacts extremely negatively. "The OSCE budget was discussed in Vienna a month ago. It was offered to allocate sums for creation of such machineries, but Azerbaijan said in that case it will set a veto at the OSCE budget. So, Baku hindered creation of the trust machineries. However, it is very much important that in the Sochi statement the presidents charged us to continue the process", - the minister said.

He also said that the attempts of the meeting of intelligentsia representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan failed because of the anti-Armenian propaganda and permanent provocative statements in Azerbaijan. Such an atmosphere within the country does not promote holding of similar meetings, Nalbandyan said.

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Zelensky of Arabia

Zelensky of Arabia

Ukrainian president, Volodomyr Zelensky, has just ended a tour to some of the Arab monarchies of the Gulf, during which he visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. For the past four years the Gulf countries have been lukewarm in their support for Ukraine, as it fought off an unprovoked Russian invasion. In these four years a steadfast Ukraine has developed the skills, and the equipment, to resist the continuous attack by Russian drones, most of which provided by Iran. Now the Arab Gulf states unexpectedly find themselves fighting off a similar threat, as Iran fires drones and missiles at them as it widens the conflict started by the US and Israel four weeks ago. Ukraine's experience and equipment are now desperately needed by the Arab Gulf countries. During the trip Zelensky managed to convince his Arab hosts to turn the page. He offered them Ukraine's equipment and expertise in their present predicament. His offer was gladly accepted. Two hundred Ukrainian advisors are already in the region. The Gulf countries will buy Ukrainian equipment and expertise. This is not just a transactional step. It is an important shift that will have long term implications. Ukraine is set to become a long term  strategic partner of Ukraine, as the sides agree on joint long term co-operation in anti-drone technology. The visit of Zelensky to the Arab Gulf monarchies further isolates Russia, and especially the Russian approach to Ukraine. It also cements a relationship that is important for both Ukraine and the GCC.

Popular

Editor's choice
Interview
Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host  persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community. He is also the first co-chair of the Action Committee for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue. Last September he made history by being the first Azerbaijani civil society activist to visit Armenia after the 44 day war, and the start of the peace process. Speaking about this visit Murad Muradov said: "My experience was largely positive. My negative expectations luckily didn’t play out. The discussions were respectful, the panel format bringing together experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey was particularly valuable during the NATO Rose-Roth Seminar in Yerevan, and media coverage, while varied in tone, remained largely constructive. Some media outlets though attempted to represent me as more of a government mouthpiece than an independent expert, which was totally misleading.  Overall, I see these initiatives as important steps in rebuilding trust and normalising professional engagement. The fact that soon a larger Azerbaijani civil society visits to Armenia followed, reinforces the sense that this process is moving in the right direction." (click the image to read the interview in full)