Serzh Sargsyan Received Delegation Headed by OSCE Chairman-in-Office

Today President Serzh Sargsyan received the delegation headed by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Vice Prime-Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ireland Eamon Gilmore.

The President welcomed the guest, congratulated on the assumption of the OSCE Chairmanship and expressed hope that under the leadership of Eamon Gilmore the chairing country will successfully carry out its high mission. Sargsyan stressed the importance of the visit of the delegation headed by Mr. Gilmore to Armenia, underscoring that visits by the Chairmen-in-Office present a good opportunity to familiarize first hand with the region’s problems and challenges as well as to discuss issues related to the OSCE activities, exchange views on the issues of mutual interest.

The parties spoke about reforms carried out in Armenia in different areas, internal developments, the Karabakh peace process and about the recently occurring incidents on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the NKR-Azerbaijan frontline. The OSCE Chairman-in-Office noted that his visit is aimed at the peaceful and safe resolution of the Karabakh conflict. He underscored that in order to achieve peace it is essential to adhere to the basic principles of the conflict resolution. According to Gilmore, the OSCE remains true to the principles of the right of people of self determination, territorial integrity and non-use of force and supports works of the OSCE Minsk Group in moving the peace process forward. He stressed that OSCE rejects any use or threat to use force and believes that there is no military solution to the problem.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office expressed concern with the incidents that took place recently on the border and the line of contact and noted that OSCE supports every effort which is aimed at the prevention of such incidents and creation of the investigation mechanisms.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the President of Armenia expressed gratitude to the OSCE and its Office in Yerevan for the constant assistance provided to our country and efficient cooperation.