OSCE Chairperson-in-office briefed on Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process in Yerevan
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Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said on Tuesday that he briefed OSCE Chairperson-in-office, Foreign Minister of Finland Elina Valtonen, on the normalization process with Azerbaijan.
“I have presented the details to our partners — both the initialling of the agreement, the principles enshrined in the declaration, and the principles under which the unblocking of transport infrastructure will take place,” FM Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with Valtonen in Yerevan.
He underscored that Valtonen’s visit to the region is taking place amid new realities.
“It is no secret that the OSCE, with its toolkit, is meant to contribute to the establishment of peace in the South Caucasus. And now that this peace has been established, and we have also initiated the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group structures, these developments are also new in terms of Armenia’s participation in the OSCE,” Mirzoyan added.
The Foreign Minister stated that Armenia must now identify new areas of cooperation for its participation in the OSCE.
“We are highly interested in opportunities for economic cooperation, as well as in issues related to environmental protection and the environment. We strongly hope that the OSCE platform — under the current and future chairmanships — will continue to contribute to the strengthening of peace, and this concerns not only the South Caucasus but the entire OSCE area,” he said.
FM Mirzoyan emphasized the importance of addressing the elimination of hostility between peoples.
“The Republic of Armenia wishes to see a strong and effective OSCE. In the current geopolitical environment, the OSCE needs unwavering commitment from participating States to the Helsinki Final Act. This is essential for strengthening the organization’s effectiveness and resilience, enabling it to fulfill its core mandate — to contribute to security and stability across the OSCE area of responsibility, to the normalization of relations, to the prevention of gross violations of human rights, and to efforts aimed at restoring violated rights,” the Armenian FM said, reaffirming that Armenia has always advocated for the full implementation of the principles of the Helsinki Final Act throughout the entire OSCE area of responsibility.