YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–Chairman of the Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee Armen Khachatrian met Monday with an OSCE delegation headed by Deputy Secretary General of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry Knut Haugue.
The delegation arrived in Armenia to make preparations for the OSCE Chairman in Office–Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek–who is scheduled to visit Armenia in mid-September.
Khachatrian pointed out the importance of cooperation with the OSCE and stressed the organization’s role in international and European processes. In connection with the planned visit of the OSCE chairman in office to Armenia–Khachatrian expressed optimism that the visit will give a new quality to OSCE-Armenia relations and promote the peace processes in the region.
He reported that a new stage of democratic development–the establishment of free market relations and the creation of different kinds of property has been initiated in Armenia as a result of cooperation between the Parliament and the government.
As for the Karabakh problem–the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee pointed out that the conflict must be settled by means of peaceful negotiations. Khachatrian pointed out the importance of Armenia’s membership in international and regional organizations–which promotes the peaceful Karabakh settlement.
The OSCE delegation members pointed out that they observe the settlement process and encourage personal meetings of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents. They expressed willingness to support such initiatives.