Ararat Mirzoyan explained why the Stockholm meeting with Bayramov was canceled

During last year’s OSCE ministerial conference in Stockholm, majority of the OSCE participating states, as well as high-ranking representatives of several international organizations have clearly emphasized the necessity of settling the Nagorno Karabakh conflict through negotiations within the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship format, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan said at the joint session of parliamentary standing committees, presenting the Foreign Ministry’s 2021 activity.

He stated that in terms of the format of the discussions the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship format had a special importance for the Armenian side. After a 1-year pause, the meetings of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers at the mediation and participation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs were held in New York in September 2021 and in Paris in November thanks to the position of the concerned states and the consistent work of the Armenian side. During those meetings the Armenian side highlighted its position on fully restoring the NK conflict’s peaceful settlement process in the format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship. The necessity for de-escalation in the border and the solution of humanitarian problems, as well as the impermissibility of provocations and anti-Armenian rhetoric were emphasized.

Before the Paris meeting, the Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs also met in Minsk in October at the mediation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The next meeting was scheduled in December in Stockholm, on the sidelines of the OSCE ministerial conference, but several hours before the meeting the Azerbaijani side cancelled it.

“Before this meeting, the Co-Chairs presented to the sides a clear negotiating agenda during the separate meetings. It’s worth nothing that days before that, during the session of the OSCE permanent council in Vienna, the Co-Chairs have once again clearly mentioned their mandate. And in our opinion, these factors, in line with Azerbaijan’s overall attitude to the format and mandate of the Co-Chairmanship, were the main reasons of the cancellation of the Stockholm meeting. Nevertheless, during the annual OSCE ministerial conference in Stockholm, majority of the OSCE participating states, as well as the high-ranking representatives of a number of international organizations have clearly emphasized the necessity of settling the Nagorno Karabakh conflict through negotiations in the format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship”, the FM said.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said that there is a common perception in the context of unblocking of regional communications according to which all transportation infrastructure and roads to be unblocked must operate under the sovereignty and legislation of those countries through which they pass.

While presenting the Foreign Ministry’s 2021 activity at the joint session of parliamentary standing committees, the FM assured that one of the key foreign policy directions has been the unblocking of transportation communications and economic ties in the region.

He reminded that the trilateral working group dealing with the unblocking of regional communications is chaired by the deputy prime ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan. This group held 8 meetings in 2021.

“As an outcome of the meetings of leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan held in Sochi on November 26, 2021 and the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and the President of the European Council held in Brussels on December 15, an agreement over re-launching the railway communication has been reached. Works on this direction continue. There is a common perception that all transportation infrastructure, roads and railways to be unblocked should operate under the sovereignty and legislation of the countries through which they pass”, the FM said.

Nagorno Karabakh problem is not a territorial dispute, but an issue of the rights of the local Armenian population. Alen Simonyan to his Kazakh counterpart

On June 6, the RA NA President received the delegation led by the Speaker of the Mazhilis of the Republic of Kazakhstan that arrived in Armenia within the framework of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly Council.

Welcoming his colleague, Alen Simonyan thanked him for being in Armenia on the crucial days for the Republic of Kazakhstan. “Yesterday was the Referendum Day of the constitutional reforms in your country, and after that important event leaving for Yerevan is appreciated,” the Head of Parliament noted.

Touching upon the regional issues, the RA NA President mentioned that Armenia is faithful to the agenda of peace and stability. He stressed that the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh problem continues being of vital significance for Armenia, and it is not a territorial dispute at all, as the leadership of Baku presents it, but it is an issue of the rights of the local Armenian population. Alen Simonyan asked his Kazakh colleague to have his contribution to resolving the humanitarian and peaceful issues regarding Nagorno Karabakh.

The sides positively assessed the level of the Armenian-Kazakh multilateral relations based on the traditional friendship and mutual understanding. They underlined the special role of the legislative bodies of Armenia and Kazakhstan, taking into consideration the fact that the Armenian-Kazakh political relations continue developing with growing rates. Both sides highlighted the cooperation on the international arena and active participation in the international organizations.

Thanking his colleague for the reception, the Speaker of the Majilis noted that he had his military service in Armenia during the years of the Soviet Union, adding that he returned to his native places. Here everything is familiar to him, and he will never forget Mount Ararat. Yerlan Koshanov presented the referendum on constitutional amendments in Kazakhstan, stating that it was a step towards democracy. He thanked for the observation mission sent by Armenia to the constitutional referendum. The Speaker of the Majilis expressed satisfaction that after being elected his first interstate visit was Armenia.

The Kazakh colleague underlined that the participation of Armenia and Kazakhstan in the Eurasian integration process opens new opportunities for trade and economic cooperation, recording that today’s indicators do not reflect the real opportunities, furthermore, there are mutually accepted projects both in Armenia and Kazakhstan, which can be mutually beneficially carried out.

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