On March 2, the official visit of the Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian to Austria continued.

The first working visit of Edward Nalbandian was with Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, the OSCE General Secretary. The interlocutors discussed issues concerning various spheres of the activity of the OSCE, as well as exchanged views on the reforms of the Organization.

Minister Nalbandian mentioned that Armenia attaches importance to the role of the OSCE in maintaining security and cooperation in Europe. Minister Nalbandian also added that Armenia will continue to participate actively in the activity of the Organization in all dimensions.

Upon the request of the OSCE Secretary General, Minister Nalbandian presented the recent developments in the negotiations over the settlement of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) issue on the eve of the meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents held in Sochi on March 5 by the initiative and presentence of the Russian President.

Edward Nalbandian visited the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna that is known to be as one of the first educational center for the preparation of diplomats in the world.
At the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna Edward Nalbandian gave an extensive speech devoted to Armenia’s foreign policy and Armenian-Austrian relations. The high-ranking officials of the MFA, political scientists, analysts and Ambassadors accredited to Vienna attended the meeting. Touching upon the recent developments in the settlement of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) issue, Minister Nalbandian particularly noted:

”While Armenia is making a proposal to reach an agreement on non-use of force Azerbaijan is boasting about its military budget. While the international community urges the sides to withdraw snipers and make consolidation of ceasefire, Azerbaijan is violating the ceasefire hundreds of time per week and organizes provocative actions on the line of contact. The international community proclaims that there is no alternative to peaceful settlement.

We we are calling for international support in facilitating progress in the compromised settlement of the conflict and to support the internationally mandated OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair efforts, the continuation of negotiations within that format, sharing the OSCE Minsk Group’s position on the issue. Azerbaijan calls on everyone to act against Armenia and against the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs positions attempting to shift the negotiation to new tracks and formats which only could harm the peace process.

The impression is that Azerbaijan is aiming not to achieve any concrete results in the negotiations, but to lead the negotiations to failure and then blame the responsibility on the other sides.

Armenia has accepted the updated proposals as a basis for compromised settlement presented in June in St. Petersburg, in October in Astrakhan and in December in Moscow. It means that Armenia and the international community speak the same language, Armenia’s position is in line with that of the international community. And what is Azerbaijan saying? They say “maybe yes, but..”, “maybe yes, although..”, proposing several changes on issues over which there was seemingly an agreement for a long time. And it is surprising that it is trying to cloak those steps by accusing Armenia in having wish to edit the agreed elements, while it is quite the contrary. The international community is waiting for a clear answer _ “Yes” or “Not”-you accept these proposals or not.

Nevertheless, we hope that a necessary degree of political realism from Azerbaijan and denunciation of the war as an option, as well as rejection of war propaganda and incitement to hatred towards Armenians will eventually be demonstrated in order to ensure the constructive conduct of the negotiations and bringing closer the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. ”

Before having a speech, the Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian met with Hans Winkler, the Director of the Diplomatic Academy. During the meeting the sides discussed a wide range of issues related to the cooperation between the Armenian new founded Diplomatic School and the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna that has over two and a half centuries-long history.

In the evening Minister Nalbandian visited the Armenian Embassy in Vienna where he met with the members of the Austrian-Armenian Community. Edward Nalbandian presented to them Armenia’s foreign policy, as well as answered many questions of the attendees.