On June 12 the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian met with Eamon Gilmore, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister who arrived in Yerevan in the frames of a regional visit.

Welcoming the guest, Edward Nalbandian noted, “Regardless of the geographical distance between our countries, centuries-old deep relations were established between our peoples. This time you arrived in Yerevan as an OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and I hope to host You in Armenia as a Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of friendly Ireland, as well.

“During the elections for the OSCE presidency, Armenia supported Ireland’s candidacy and I reaffirmed that Armenia will support all those steps which the Irish chairmanship will initiate to make the OSCE a more efficient and vibrant organization,” added Minister Nalbandian.

Expressing gratitude for the reception, Eamon Gilmore said that he was pleased to visit Yerevan and planned to pay a reciprocal visit to Armenia, as well.

In the course of the meeting the sides had a thorough talk over the maintenance of peace and security in the South Caucasus which is one of the key issues on the agenda of Ireland’s Chairmanship.

The Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs presented the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office the recent developments in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, as well as Azerbaijan’s steps taken towards the escalation of a situation in the region.

“We share the opinion that there is no alternative to peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. In this respect, Armenia’s position is line with that of the international community reflected in the statements of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries’ Presidents in L’Aquila in 2009, in Muskoka in 2010 and in Deauville in 2011,” underscored Minister Nalbandian.

In this context, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office stressed that the Irish Chairmanship is concerned about the escalation of the situation and is determined to take steps towards confidence-building, withdrawal of snipers from the line of contact, reaching an agreement on a mechanism to investigate incidents and implementation of that mechanism. Eamon Gilmore added that the OSCE is supporting the exclusively peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue in the frames of the negotiations being held under the auspices of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

Eamon Gilmore positively assessed ongoing democratic reforms in Armenia, as well and reaffirmed the OSCE's comprehensive support to that process.

The Ministers touched upon the agenda issues of the OSCE activities and reforms.
The meeting between Edward Nalbandian and Eamon Gilmore was followed by a joint press conference.