Mr. Chairman,
\nDear Colleagues,

\n

I would like to thank the Kazakh Chairmanship for warm hospitality and good organization of this meeting. Our growing engagement in Corfu initiative and a new format of informal ministerial meetings underline importance of further deliberations on creating equal and indivisible security in the OSCE area.

\n

In moving forward with the OSCE agenda I think it should not be redundant to restate once again our full adherence to the commitments and to the norms and principles set out in the fundamental documents of this Organisation, reconfirming their equal value, and define our future goals on this understanding. The basic principle of the OSCE decision making process - the consensus rule - should be retained as a mechanism ensuring comprehensiveness and inclusiveness of our endeavours.

\n

The issue of review and adaptation of the relevant OSCE mechanisms and documents in different dimensions stands as one of the pillars of our recent deliberations, which is a natural process for any International Organization. By engaging in this exercise we should be careful not to undermine the existing commitments and should ensure that it would not influence the implementation of the obligations. Another important aspect of our joint efforts should aim at strengthening the effectiveness of our Organisation, if we want to be adequate in our common response to the new challenges, including trans-national threats. We are convinced that this issue should be high on the agenda of the OSCE, in order to ensure its efficiency and responsive nature.
\nAmong a wide range of questions discussed during the Corfu process the OSCE engagement in the conflict cycle stands as probably one of the most important themes. Indeed, it is difficult to argue that conflicts are among most pertinent threats to security and stability in the OSCE area. The potential of their escalation - both unintentional or as a matter of deliberate policy and the consequent possibility of the eruption to large scale warfare remains high. Unfortunately, such possibilities are not just hypothetical, as we continue to be challenged even on some recent occasions.
\nThe OSCE as a regional security organization has an important role to fulfill for the prevention of such situations thus contributing to overall security and stability. One of such contributions could be strong commitment by the OSCE participating States to the principle of non use or threat of use of force, probably also in a form of regional agreements, especially in the conflict zones. We see the merit for the OSCE in identifying any infringement of the above principle and preventing their occurrence in the future. The OSCE should act as an early warning and conflict prevention mechanism by assessment of the situation around the implementation of its commitments, including within the arms controls arrangements, and react properly whenever it detects a shortcoming by the participating States, including the cases of destabilizing accumulation of conventional weaponry and drastic increases in military budgets.

\n

Mr. Chairman,

\n

We still have a considerable way to pass towards our objectives. We believe that to move forward the OSCE has to concentrate on topics that enjoy a great potential for consensus and in our common perception, could serve as a basis for an action aimed at achieving tangible results.

\n

Inter-cultural dialogue, as recently demonstrated at the OSCE Conference on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination in Astana, can become one of consolidating topics for the discussions, including at the highest-level.

\n

In the absence of a Summit over more than a decade, such issues, if considerably advanced and well-prepared, may constitute the core of the agenda of the OSCE Summit proposed by Kazakhstan, which Armenia has supported, and would define the main directions of our joint work for the years ahead.

\n

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.