First time Francophone Summit touched upon the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) issue

On October 23-24, within the framework of the 40th Anniversary of the International Francophone Day, the 13th Summit of the Francophone member-countries took place in the Swiss city of Montreux. 70 members of the Organization, as well as the delegations of the associated and observer countries arrived in Montreux to attend the Summit.

The Armenian delegation led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian was participating in the jubilee Francophone Summit.

Delivering a speech in the Summit, the Armenian Foreign Minister stressed the importance of cooperation within the framework of Francophone Organization and its role in consolidation of peace and solidarity between the countries and peoples through multicultural dialogue.

Edward Nalbandian expressed satisfaction with the decision of holding the General Assembly of the Francophone cities in Yerevan in 2011. The Armenian Foreign Minister underlined that this decision also was the Organization’s specific assessment of Armenia as an active member and credible partner.

This is the first time that the final resolution of the Francophone Summit included a provision on the settlement of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) issue where it is particularly noted: ”We reaffirm our unconditional support to the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs towards the peaceful resolution of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) issue . We urge all the parties to the conflict to refrain from use of force or threat of force that can endanger the future of the peaceful process. We call on the sides to continue the negotiations based on the principles proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs as a background for balanced and long-term settlement of the conflict”

The Francophone Summit reelected the Secretary General Abdou Diouf to the post of the Secretary General of the Organization.

In the frames of the Summit, Minister Nalbandian also held meetings with a number of his counterparts.

The “Francophone district” event dedicated to the cultural variety of the Francophone member-countries was organized in the course of the Summit where Armenia presented the Armenian spiritual and classical music.