Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian insisted he was the initiator of the recent visit to Vienna, where he held meetings with Chairman of the OSCE Permanent Council and Permanent Representative of Austria.
Asked to comment over the unfolding situation around the operation of the OSCE Yerevan Office, Nalbandian informed the extension of the organizations’ mandate in Armenia was included in the agenda of OSCE Permanent Council meeting.
The minister assessed the meetings as quite constructive and important with the apparent outcomes became known on the same day.
“At the Permanent Council meeting the Chairman of the OSCE Permanent Council and Permanent Representative of Austria outlined that throughout the discussions on the extension of mandate of the OSCE Yerevan Office one participating state, in particularly Azerbaijan, expressed a concern that the humanitarian demining programme of the Office was not in line with its mandate. In reality, the Office implements no demining programme, but rather an educational awareness raising project for a period of one year.
The OSCE Chairmanship made an assessment of this issue on spot in the framework of his visit to Yerevan and concluded that the above-mentioned programme does not fall outside the mandate of the Office,” Nalbandian said, adding Azerbaijan continued complaining despite the communicated assessments.
“I want to clarify that the matter is not about the Armenian Office, but that of the OSCE operating in Armenia. To put the other way, Azerbaijan is acting against the OSCE through opposing the organization’s operation in Armenia, condemning the OSCE that is allegedly threatening its security which is an evident lie that was acknowledged by the former Chairman-in-Office as well,” Nalbandian said.
The minister went on saying the OSCE participating states requested the Yerevan Office to abstain from the implementation of the humanitarian demining programme, since the organization is a consensus based with Azerbaijan to object extension decision in any way. Nalbandian informed the member states expressed gratitude to Armenia for its constructive stance while the representative of Azerbaijan was in disgraceful isolation.
In Armenian foreign minister’s words Azerbaijani actual frustration is explained by the fact Armenia has been always exemplified and praised for hosting the only OSCE Office in the region and has cooperated with it in all dimensions at the best possible way.