Tuesday, 5 June 2007
RA Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan received the delegation headed by OSCE Chair-in-Office, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Spain Miguel Angel Moratinos who is in Yerevan on official visit. The delegation included Chairman of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Goran Lenmarker.
Welcoming Mr. Miguel Angel Moratinos to Armenia, the Prime Minister expressed hope that his visit would help promote not only the cooperation of our country with the OSCE, but also the further development of bilateral Armenian-Spanish relations.
Stating the importance of this cooperation, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office noted that the time has come for Spain and Armenia to declare about the establishment and strengthening of relationship of new quality in political, economic, cultural and other spheres. He said that Spain was going to open its own embassy in our country in order to promote and deepen considerably bilateral relations with Armenia.
Having presented the economic potentialities of his country and noting that he was impressed by Armenia's economic performance and growth dynamics, Miguel Angel Moratinos said that, as a major investor in the world, Spain might carry out important investments in different spheres of Armenia's economy.
He further stressed that as he was the Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, this visit of his acquired special significance, considering that important decisions were expected in such a sensitive question as the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. The mission of the OSCE in this process was to help find equitable solutions by providing a favorable environment for the peoples of Armenian and Azerbaijan.
Before proceeding to a more detailed discussion with the Prime Minister of Armenia over the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, the acting Chairman of the OSCE congratulated him on the successful completion of parliamentary elections in our country and emphasized that the experts of the OSCE observer missions had expressed quite favorable opinions of these elections. He also noted that a solid basis was in place for further improvements and successful holding of the upcoming presidential elections. Mr. Miguel Angel Moratinos assured that the OSCE was ready to possibly support the Armenian authorities in their efforts for matching said elections with the European standards.
Thanking his guest for the compliments and congratulations voiced, the RA Prime Minister said that, as a landmark for future elections, the latest parliamentary elections still fell short of fully corresponding international criteria. He expressed hope that through joint efforts of all political forces in Armenia, next year's elections would be much better than these ones.
With reference to the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Serzh Sargsyan reiterated the approach of the Armenian side consisting in that the issue should be settled peacefully, on the basis of mutual concessions. The Prime Minister noticed at the same time that in spite of the fact that the statements of the President of Azerbaijan gave rise to some apprehension, nevertheless he hoped that the forthcoming meeting of the two Presidents St.-Petersburg would be productive. The acting OSCE Chairman, too, expressed optimism in the hope that a political framework would be laid for future talks.
During the meeting, RA Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan said to be highly appreciative of the cooperation with the Yerevan office of the OSCE which, as he said, had already generated certain traditions. In noting that currently the Yerevan office of the OSCE carried out 3 programs of great value to the development of corresponding spheres in Armenia, he confirmed GoA's readiness to continue strengthening and developing this cooperation. Here, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of the Program of Melange.
In conclusion, taking notice of RA Prime Minister's views on a number of questions, including the elections, the acting Chairman of the OSCE said that all this testified to Armenia's willingness of making further efforts towards the strengthening of democracy.
