Statement by H.E. Mr. Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia at the Informal meeting of the OSCE Foreign Ministers

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Corfu, Greece
\nJune 27-28, 2009

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Madame Minister,
\nDear colleagues,

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One can get an impression that ‘security’, ‘stability’ and ‘cooperation’ have become repeated routine notions. In fact, they are vital issues for all of us. Many of these challenges need to be effectively addressed and resolved through new creative initiatives, to ensure realistic and pragmatic solutions.

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That's why I would like to thank you Madame Bakoyanis for this initiative. The evidence of its importance is the fact that almost all Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Participating States are here today around this table to discuss «Helsinki Plus» process. And we need to elevate it to a new level, making it more responsive to the current needs and realities in all three dimensions.

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Before the dramatic events of last August none of us wanted to believe that such development could occur. Our yesterday's discussion has shown that even after those events, today some of us still think that nothing of a kind can ever happen again.

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Security arrangements of the past century have their deep roots in a reality, which is not the same today. Indeed, many of us do think that time has come to shape a new and more effective Euro-Atlantic security architecture, possibly in the form of a European security treaty, where the overall security is indivisible, and where individual states do not enjoy a higher security level at the expense of others, where you cannot acknowledge the rights of ones, while denying the same rights of the others, where there is no place for war-mongering, where if you agree on the principles of arms control - you should respect them, where there is no place for the threat or use of force and where all countries join their efforts against common threats. Having all this, we could more effectively address challenges, recently discussed during Annual Security Review conference in Vienna.

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The South Caucasus represents a hot spot on the world’s political map with almost a full set of security threats and challenges. The region is devastated by conflicts and interstate tensions, sometimes deriving from historical past, the dividing lines caused by the clashing interests of regional and global actors, economic blockade and closed borders. And those who have been openly practicing such policies are hardly expected to be perceived as advocates for peace or defenders of the principles of international law.

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There can be no interpretative and selective applications of norms and principles of international law, as well as artificial hierarchies among those fundamental principles. Protection of human rights, both individual and collective, and the freely expressed will of the people were the driving force for the evolution of international law. The world history of the last century vividly demonstrated that countering those rights may give rise to conflicts, some of which we are working hard to resolve. The sooner we acknowledge this, the easier it would be for us to agree on confidence-building measures, and find durable solutions that would ensure continued stability and security. Regional cooperation could be used as an important tool for crisis prevention or decrease the threat of the existing one from getting worse, and to create favorable conditions for their resolution.

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We believe that in order to be successful in the implementation of broader security commitments, being inclusive in the membership of the OSCE should also imply being inclusive on equal basis of all the relevant security organizations that comprise these participating states. That's why we can only welcome Greek Chairmanship's invitation to the representatives of major organizations dealing with security issues to participate in this event.

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The last two decades with unprecedented changes in our region, wavered the balance in the Euro-Atlantic area. Balance is the rule of nature. And it is quite natural that states continue to claim equal participation, equal treatment, equal application of commitments, and assessment of the implementation of those commitments on equal terms and by the same criteria. The growing interrelatedness and interconnectedness of the participating states make this a more demanding task.

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We are confident that through joint efforts and manifestation of political will the OSCE participating states can reach win-win solutions settling the disagreements by highlighting common concerns and interests, rather than differences and disparities. Advocating political positivism and pragmatism, we should pledge to be ‘for’ and not ‘against.’ We must reinforce the bridges between the OSCE nations, working out mutually beneficial and comprehensive security and cooperation schemes. And our common objective should be the shaping of a common environment that is safe and prosperous for all.
\nThank you.