On June 16 the Minister of Foreighn Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan received the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Margareta Cederfelt.

Minister Mirzoyan emphasized the role of the OSCE as the largest regional security organization and highly valued the cooperation with the OSCE PA as a parliamentary platform for dialogue on ensuring comprehensive and indivisible security within the area of responsibility of the OSCE. 

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan and the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Margareta Cederfelt agreed that the visit of her delegation is a good opportunity to outline new prospects of mutually beneficial cooperation between the sides.

During the meeting the Armenian side presented its positions on the process of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as on works aimed at normalizing the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The Foreign Minister of Armenia stressed that despite Azerbaijan’s claims that Nagorno-Karabakh does not exist anymore and there is no Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, there is a general consensus among the international community that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains unresolved.

Ararat Mirzoyan also emphasized that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should find its comprehensive and lasting resolution within the only internationally accepted madiating format - the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

The Foreign Minister of Armenia expressed concern over the continuous Armenophobic and warmongering rhetoric of the Azerbaijani authorities, and the provocative actions against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. He condemned Azerbaijan's continued aspirations towards the sovereign territory of Armenia, which seriously question the sincerity of Azerbaijan's statements regarding achieving peace in the region.

The Foreign Minister drew interlocutors’ attention to the fact that in gross violation of international humanitarian law, Azerbaijan continues to hold Armenian prisoners of war and civilians hostage, as well as pursues a targeted policy of distorting and destructing the Armenian religious and cultural heritage in the territories fallen under its control as a result of the 44-day war. In this context, the importance of practical steps by the international community to fully address these urgent issues was stressed.