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Minister Oskanian Participates in the 15th Meeting of the Black Sea

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  • Minister Oskanian Participates in the 15th Meeting of the Black Sea

    MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
    ------------------------------------------ ----
    PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
    Government House # 2, Republic Square
    Yerevan 0010, Republic of Armenia
    Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext 202
    Fax: +37410. 562543
    Email: [email protected]
    www.armeniaforeignministry.am

    PRESS RELEASE

    01-11-2006

    Minister Oskanian Participates in the 15th Meeting
    of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Council of Ministers

    Minister Oskanian was in Moscow, participating at the 15th meeting
    of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Council of Ministers. Russia
    has held the presidency of that organization since April 2006.

    In his statement at the meeting, Minister Oskanian stressed that
    there are more commonalities among BSEC members than differences,
    and despite the bilateral problems that exist, the positive elements
    must and can override these differences in order to allow for a
    harmonious environment in which to work and to settle political
    issues. He pointed out that in the realm of creating a transport ring,
    the efforts by some members to resort to a policy of exclusion and
    not include certain members by circumventing or ignoring existing
    transport means is unacceptable for members of the same organization.

    Finally, the Minister noted that in light of Bulgaria and Romania
    joining the EU next year, this makes, with Greece, three BSEC members
    who are simultaneously members of the EU, and thus provides new
    opportunities for BSEC ~V EU cooperation taking into consideration
    both overlapping interests and overlapping memberships.

    Further, Minister suggested that in preparation for the organization's
    15th anniversary and the Summit to be held in Istanbul, the time is
    right to study the accumulated experiences and the new challenges,
    and to make the necessary modification and institutional changes to
    become more effective.

    As a result of the meeting, a Joint declaration was passed and the
    presidency of BSEC was passed on to Serbia.

    Within the framework of the BSEC meeting, Minister Oskanian met with
    Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov. They discussed bilateral issues, as
    well as regional matters, and the Nagorno Karabakh settlement process.

    Earlier in the day, Minister Oskanian had also met with Georgian
    Foreign Minister Gela Bezuashvili. The two ministers discussed
    Armenian-Georgian relations, as well as the effect of Russian-Georgian
    relations on the region, and prospects for reduction of tensions.

    The Ministers discussed the upcoming meeting in Brussels with the
    EU leadership at which time, the European Neighborhood Action Plan
    will go into effect, and the two countries will be better able to
    cooperate within Euro-integration processes.

    Minister Oskanian and Minister Bezuashvili exchanged views on the
    peaceful resolution of conflicts in the region, and in that context,
    the prospects for alleviating the consequences of a GUAM initiative
    within the UN.
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