YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. During the 24th meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Vienna, Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian said the closure of the OSCE Office in Yerevan was a very negative precedent, reports Armenpress.

FM Nalbandian said the very essence of the OSCE is to settle the issues through dialogue and cooperation and never through imposing the position of one participating State at the expense of all others and the entire Organization. 

“The Ministerial Councils provide an opportunity to talk about the achievements and vision for the future. However, it is equally important not to omit to address the setbacks of the Organization in an open and candid manner. The refusal of Azerbaijan to join the consensus on the extension of the mandate of the Office damaged not merely the integrity of the field missions of the OSCE, but its capacity of inclusive cooperation”, Nalbandian said.

He reminded that Azerbaijan failed to respect the OSCE commitments and eliminated the OSCE Office in its own country before it attacked and closed the last OSCE full-fledged mission in the region.

“It is particularly deplorable that the Office was closed against the will and consistent efforts for its preservation exerted by the host country and all participating States with one exception - Azerbaijan. We would like to recall that both German and Austrian Chairmanships rejected the accusations of Azerbaijan against Yerevan Office. It does not come as a surprise that Azerbaijan found itself in isolation in challenging the OSCE Office in Yerevan”, the minister noted.

Edward Nalbandian added that Armenia is determined to continue the close cooperation within the OSCE framework, and the “Armenia cooperation programme” opens good opportunities in this regard.