Category: 2023

 15:42,

YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Foreign Minister of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani is calling on Armenia and Azerbaijan to address the demarcation and delimitation and the opening of communication lines.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Osmani said that today, but also previously, they spoke about Armenia’s concern regarding the Lachin corridor and its effect on the lives and livelihoods of the population.

“The ongoing situation and the Armenian-Azerbaijani context in general remains a top priority for OSCE but also for me as Chairman-in-Office,” Osmani said.

Before visiting Armenia, Osmani traveled to Azerbaijan.

“I’m here today following meetings yesterday in Baku, and as chair we aim for peaceful, comprehensive and sustainable settlement of the disagreements that afflict and concerns Armenians and Azerbaijanis. We stand ready to continue our efforts through the OSCE existing mechanisms and structures and new ideas and approaches in order to achieve these goals. It is after all about people and this is why I will continue to encourage all parties to rely on dialogue and negotiation rather than force and coercion in resolving disputes. We stand behind any effort that provides positive dynamics in support of the full implementation of previously agreed measures and identification of new areas for agreement. I encourage addressing crucial issues such as demarcation and delimitation and the opening of communication lines. As OSCE Chairman-in-Office, I support any effort that leads to peace and all initiatives that facilitate dialogue, defuse tensions, boost trust and confidence leading to normalization of relations. Let me be clear and very open. I’m saying all this with the outmost humility of someone who has walked the walk, that’s because I come from a country that has gone through the ordeal of a conflict, country that had its share of open conflicts and open issues with neighbors. North Macedonia used multilateral negotiation platforms to resolve complex differences with its neighbors. In our experience the negotiation process can be complicated and difficult but the prospect of good neighborly relations and enduring stability and prosperity prevailed. We must look with hope to the future to see beyond our immediate concerns to glimpse the great things that can be achieved through strong leadership, good faith and political will. We are ready to share these experiences and support all parties in using the negotiation table, not the battlefield for dispute settlement,” Osmani said.

He reaffirmed the OSCE’s commitment to Armenia and its endeavors and aspirations to secure sustainable peace.  “Rest assured that as OSCE Chairman-in-Office I will work to strengthen and deepen our cooperation promoting peace and stability in today’s era of uncertainty,” he added.

 16:12,

YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. No OSCE member can singlehandedly end a mechanism or institution which was founded by all members of the organization, Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan said during a joint press conference with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Foreign Minister of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani when asked by a reporter to comment on Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev’s claims that the OSCE Minsk Group is expired.

“I think we can’t be guided by the Azerbaijani claims, given the fact that the Azerbaijani claims themselves very often contradict one another around various issues. We can recall the example of Lachin Corridor, when Azerbaijan claimed and still claims that the corridor isn’t blocked, and then a few days later it claims that the corridor is blocked by civilian environmental activists who have environmental concerns, and then it says that these activists should check all cargo and persons passing along the corridor. If we were to be guided by the Azerbaijani claims we would be in a total confusion. Furthermore, Azerbaijan claims that not only doesn’t the Minsk Group exist anymore, but that Nagorno Karabakh doesn’t exist, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict doesn’t exist, and there’s no issue at all in this context that requires addressing or international discussion, or resolution.” the Armenian FM said.

“No OSCE member country can put an end to a mechanism, an institution, a decision, around the establishment of which all member countries had concurred, and which was basically founded by all member countries. The Minsk Group, Minsk format exists, and it is another matter that for many reasons, objective and subjective, the activities of the co-chairmanship is now frozen. I am sure that the Minsk process still has tasks to fulfill and a role in addressing the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh,” he said, adding that the OSCE has tasks to do as well, namely through its other institutions, such as the Personal Representative of the CiO, and not only the Minsk Group.

 16:10,

YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Foreign Minister of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani said that the OSCE Minsk Group – the only organization with an international mandate for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict resolution, is currently frozen.

“…the Minsk Group is frozen at the moment but I cannot deny that there might be a role for the Minsk format when the circumstances will be appropriate,” Osmani said at a joint press conference with Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan, commenting on Azerbaijan’s claims that the Minsk Group has expired and the NK conflict doesn’t exist anymore.

“Minsk format was established formally with the Bucharest summit of the OSCE and is formally there and we support Minsk Group,” he said.

“However, we are aware of the opposing assessments of some of the parties on its work, as well as changed geopolitical circumstances stemming from the war of Russia in Ukraine, has changed the dynamic between the co-chairs. So we don’t have collective gathering of the co-chair to formally conduct their job. So as you said the Minsk Group is frozen at the moment, but I cannot deny that there might be a role for the Minsk format when the circumstances will be appropriate. However, OSCE is not only Minsk Group, OSCE has many other instruments and mechanisms that can be introduced in order to support the peace process between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, and I’m here to promote and to contribute to that peace process by offering that unique versatile toolkit of the OSCE in confidence building, in reconciliation as well as on promoting peace process achieving a comprehensive sustainable settlement between the two countries.”

 17:12,

YEREVAN, 13 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 13 April, USD exchange rate down by 0.24 drams to 387.97 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 3.23 drams to 427.35 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.02 drams to 4.75 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 3.73 drams to 485.27 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 53.15 drams to 25049.33 drams. Silver price up by 0.93 drams to 313.65 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.

 16:15,

YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Foreign Minister of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani said he raised the Lachin Corridor issue during his visit to Azerbaijan on April 12.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan, Osmani said that his first activity as OSCE CiO was a phone conversation with Mirzoyan on the Lachin Corridor.

“Then we organized a special Permanent Council meeting in Vienna where we invited Minister Mirzoyan to present his views related to the Lachin corridor, and third I opened this issue as I raised numbers of humanitarian issues in Baku yesterday as I’m going to raise them today in order to see is there a space for bridge building between the two countries. This is our role as OSCE, a platform of permanent dialogue between countries in order ensure permanent peace. So, we’ve been engaged and we will continue to be engaged since this is the theme, as I said, of our chairmanship to focus on the people and their need on the ground particularly humanitarian related issues.”

 17:21,

YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Foreign Minister of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani.

PM Pashinyan welcomed the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Bujar Osmani’s visit to the region and said that it is a good opportunity to get acquainted with the difficult situation, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a readout. PM Pashinyan noted the Armenian government’s interest to develop and enhance cooperation with the OSCE.

In turn, Osmani underscored the importance of partnership with Armenia and added that the organization’s goal is to contribute to peace and stability in the region.

PM Pashinyan and the OSCE CiO Bujar Osmani discussed issues relating to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno Karabakh resulting from the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor and delimitation of borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The OSCE Minsk Group activities and ensuring a more active role of the institution of Personal Representative of the OSCE CiO was discussed.

Prime Minister Pashinyan attached importance to an adequate and consistent reaction by the international community to Azerbaijan’s provocative and destructive actions.

 17:28,

YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Ministry of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) strongly condemns the visit of the delegation of the National Commissions for UNESCO of the member states of the International Organization of Turkic Culture to the occupied Armenian city of Shushi on 8 April.

Below is the full statement issued by the Artsakh MFA.

“We strongly condemn the visit of the delegation of the National Commissions for UNESCO of the member states of the International Organization of Turkic Culture to the occupied Armenian city of Shushi on 8 April. It is obvious that this illegal visit, as well as holding other similar events in the occupied Armenian city of Shushi, are aimed at legitimising by Azerbaijan and its allies the results of the aggressive war unleashed by Baku in 2020 and the illegal use of force against the Republic of Artsakh and its people. We emphasise again that the city of Shushi is an integral part of Artsakh, both in the territorial, cultural, economic and historical aspects.

The visit by the National Commissions for UNESCO to Shushi looks even more blasphemous and provocative against the backdrop of the illegal blockade of Artsakh that has been going on for 4 months now, as well as the systematic destruction of Armenian religious, historical and cultural monuments and the falsification of their identity in the territories that came under the control of the Azerbaijani armed forces, including in the ancient Armenian city of Shushi, and the persistent obstruction by the Azerbaijani authorities of sending a UNESCO assessment mission to Nagorno-Karabakh to conduct an inventory and assessment of the state of cultural heritage sites.

By such actions, the Azerbaijani authorities seek to obtain from representatives of individual states and international structures tacit approval of their criminal plans to carry out ethnic cleansing aimed at leaving Artsakh without Armenians and traces of the centuries-old Armenian presence. The abuse of kinship ties between countries and peoples to falsify history and promote their own political narratives is unacceptable and does not contribute to strengthening peace and mutual understanding among peoples.

In this regard, we remind once again that the ongoing acts of vandalism and desecration by Azerbaijan against Armenian churches and other cultural and religious monuments in Artsakh, including in the occupied Armenian city of Shushi, constitute gross violations of international law, as well as the Order of the International Court of Justice of 7 December 2021 on the indication of provisional measures.”