Armenia’s Foreign Minister, Vartan Oskanian, spent Monday March 5 in Washington, visiting with members of the US administration as well as US congressmen.

His first meeting was with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, with whom the Minister discussed various items on the Armenia-US agenda, including trade, the Millennium Challenge program, democratic and economic reforms, and US assistance to Armenia.

The two also discussed the upcoming Parliamentary election. The Secretary made clear that the US expects that the elections will be conducted according to international norms and standards.
The Foreign Minister assured the Secretary that Armenia understands the significance of the upcoming parliamentary elections, within the context of Armenia’s internal political development, as well as an indication of the maturity of democratic processes within Armenia, and the impact of the conduct of the elections on various assistance programs with the US and the EU.

Minister Oskanian briefed the Secretary on the current status of the Nagorno Karabakh resolution process, as well as on Armenia’s relations with Turkey. On Nagorno Karabakh, the Minister reiterated Armenia’s firm commitment to the principles currently being negotiated, and expressed concerns that there may be attempts to deviate from this process, both in content and in procedure.

Regarding the continuing absence of relations with Turkey, the Minister repeated Armenia’s readiness to establish relations with Turkey, without preconditions of any sort. The Minister reiterated that open borders would greatly affect the environment in the region, and spur regional cooperation and growth. The two also discussed the pending Genocide resolution in the US Congress.

Following the meeting with the Secretary, Minister Oskanian met with US Assistant Undersecretary of State and US Minsk Group co-chair Matt Bryza. The two discussed Nagorno Karabakh and the upcoming meeting of the ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, in Geneva, on March 14, together with the co-chairs of the Minsk Group.

Later in the day, with the co-chairs of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, Minister Oskanian outlined the broad US-Armenia agenda, and ways in which Congress can play a role. During the meeting, the Genocide issue was also discussed. In referring to the pending Genocide reaffirmation resolution, the Minister explained, “The Armenian government, in contrast to the leadership in Ankara, does not seek to lecture elected American officials on this core human rights issue. Sadly, the Turkish government continues to export its policy of genocide denial, seeking to impose upon the US and other nations the very intolerance that inspired Section 301 and led to the murder of journalist Hrant Dink. This should not be tolerated by any individual or any country. The Armenian government has faith in the American democratic process and respects the integrity of US Congressional decision-making.”

During his visit, the Minister also met with representatives of Armenian advocacy groups in Washington and shared thoughts on current issues.