On December 1, in Skopje, on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a meeting with Helga Schmid, the OSCE Secretary General.

During the meeting, issues of interaction between Armenia and the OSCE were discussed. Referring to the fact that the OSCE remains the largest organization on regional security issues, Minister Mirzoyan emphasized that it should be able to fulfill its mandate and ensure equal use of rapid response mechanisms on the whole area of the organization.

Touching upon security issues in the South Caucasus, Ararat Mirzoyan highlighted that Azerbaijan, violating the fundamental principles of the OSCE Helsinki Final Act, not only subjected Nagorno-Karabakh to complete ethnic cleansing, but also continues to jeopardize the efforts of international mediators aimed at establishing stability in the region. The Minister added that such violations, taking place in an atmosphere of impunity, encourage the behavior of the use of force or the threat of force, and the international community should double its efforts to overcome current challenges.

Ararat Mirzoyan stressed that Armenia is committed to the normalization of relations with Azerbaijan based on well-known principles. However, to make progress, it is important that all countries of the region engage genuinely in the implementation of the peace agenda. In this context, presenting the "Crossroads of Peace" project, Minister Mirzoyan emphasized that not only the countries of the South Caucasus, but also the countries of the wider region can benefit from it.