Today the Minister Edward Nalbandian visited “Miasin” youth movement’s summer camp located on the coast of Lake Sevan, where the participants “Miasin 2010” pan-Armenian youth educational forum are spending their training rest.
Edward Nalbandian made a tour around the camp, got acquainted with the activities of the camp and the projects implemented by the “Miasin” movement.

Afterwards the Foreign Minister met the participants of the camp and replied to several questions on the foreign policy of Armenia and the activities of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Concerning the current phase of the negotiations on the Karabakh problem, the Foreign Minister of Armenia said, that in the statement of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries in Almaty on July 17, there is a reference to the statements of L’Aquila from the last year and Muskoka from this year, made by Presidents Medvedev, Obama and Sarkozy and to the principles included in those statements, and it was noted that based on those principles the probmel should be resolved. There was a reference to the three principles included in the statement made during the OSCE Ministerial meeting from December 1, 2009, on which basis the conflict should be settled.
Importantly it is noted that it is not acceptable to select some of the principles and elements over the others, it is not acceptable to prioritize some of them over the others, which were conceived as an integrated whole.
If Azerbaijan is concentrated only on one of those three principles, on the territorial integrity, in reality there are three principles. If Azerbaijan prioritizes only one of the six elements of Muskoka, then the co-chair countries have openly and clearly said that it is an unconstructive approach and does not contribute to the settlement of the problem.
This statement also mentioned the provocation masterminded by the Azerbaijani side on June 18th-19th, and the other Azeri steps, acts and inflammatory statements. The necessity of the consolidation of the cease-fire was stressed.
It is clear whom those messages are addressed. There is a good Russian proverb_ “и ежу понятно”. There is an impression that the Azeris have put corks into their ears and do not want to listen about what the international community is talking through the mediators. They are blaming everyone, are pretending that they are constructive. But if except from them no one else except from them understands their constructiveness, then they need to look for the culprit should be looked for amongst themselves.
When they are talking about the consolidation of ceasefire, about avoiding from bellicose rhetoric, it should be reminded that Azerbaijan has for more than 15 years been violating the commitments undertaken by itself on preserving and consolidating of the ceasefire; not only the ceasefire conditions established between Azerbaijan, Karabakh and Armenia on May 12, 1994, but also the February 4 1995 agreement on consolidation of the ceasefire in the format of the same three sides, according to which Azerbaijan had made commitments to inform about any violations to the Armenian side, the mediators and not just to its own media outlets with an aim to strengthen the anti-Armenian propaganda, to abstain from statements aggravating the conflict. Baku has been violating those commitments for decades now.
Both Armenia and Karabakh have always stood for initiation of steps aimed at the consolidation of the ceasefire. In March 2005 through the statement of the Defense Minister, Armenia once again re-endorsed its willingness on that issue. The same was done by Karabakh.
The absence of adequate reaction of the international community to the violations of those obligations by Azerbaijan brings to the fact that Azerbaijan continues to deny any proposal in this direction, as it did with the call of the Foreign Ministers of the Co-Chair countries made during the Council of Foreign Minister of the OSCE in Helsinki in 2008 – to undertake steps for the enhancement of ceasefire and pull back snipers from the front lines.
Let’s see how the Azerbaijanis will react on the calls made in Almati, what steps they will undertake, whether they will change their deconstructive behavior, which does not lead to the settlement of the issue.”
On a question what “December proposals” Azerbaijan is continuously speaking about, Edward Nalbandian said. “The reality is that in November 2007 the Co-Chairs presented the Madrid document to the sides and it was deposited at the Secretariat of OSCE in Vienna as official proposal.
After that there were more than twenty working proposals based on the Madrid document. When Azerbaijan declared that it could accept the working proposal of December 2009, albeit with some exceptions, it became clear that the exceptions are more than the accepted part. Then, what does it mean “to accept with exceptions”? In fact it means to reject it.
In 2010, in Sochi, during the meeting of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, organized by the initiative and presence of Dmitriy Medvedev, the President of the Russian Federation, an agreement was reached to instruct the Foreign Ministers to continue the negotiations by the mediation of the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation. The mediation of Minister Lavrov was and is fully supported by the United States and France and the statement of Almati is the evidence of that. In February-June, 2010, numerous contacts on the level of Foreign Ministers took place; a number of working proposals on the basis of the Madrid document were discussed.
As a result of these negotiations the final version of the Madrid document was elaborated, which was presented during the meeting in St. Petersburg on June 17 and an agreement was reached to continue negotiations on the basis of that version.
Today, on one hand the Azerbaijanis say that are thankful, they commend the efforts of Russia, but on the other hand they are questioning the importance of the St. Petersburg meeting. Let me remind that during the recent period six meetings have been held by the initiative of Russia.
A question arises: why they participate in those meeting if they are of no importance for them.”
Speaking about the possibility of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations the Armenian Foreign Minister said. “The ball is in the Turkey’s court and today not only we, but also international community says that.
One can be not good in playing football, but it is already from another field not to notice that the ball is in your court when the stands, platforms of the ground shout about it.”
The participants of the camp raised a question about the staff policy of the Foreign Ministry and the conditions of applying for a job, in an answer to which Edward Nalbandian presented the norms of entering into a diplomatic service and the goals of establishing the Diplomatic School and said “About 190 young fellows applied for the admission to the MFA Diplomatic School, 27 of them were elected and those who have showed more success will join the diplomatic service of Armenia by working at the MFA system.
We need young personnel, as we expand the geography of our diplomatic representations.
One becomes a diplomat for a lifetime and one should know that not the every day, but every second of your life, the life of future diplomats, should be dedicated to serving to our country and to our nation, to expand the number of Armenia’s friends all over the world.
The work of diplomat is heavy and tense, which can be compared with military service with the difference that diplomat’s arm is his knowledge. And for this very knowledge this diplomatic school has been established. The knowledge is the only criteria, on the basis of which the competitions are held and personnel is elected at the MFA, which doors are open to each competent young fellow, who has knowledge,” the Armenian Foreign Minister summed up his speech.