EU is ready to deepen trust between Nagorno Karabakh sidesMay 28, 2009 - 19:23 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The EU firmly believes that an international monitoring presence in Georgia remains essential and supports the continued presence of the UN and the OSCE in Georgia in the region, Ambassador Peter Semneby, the European Union Special Representative for the South Caucasus said today."The EU has long advocated the continuation of an OSCE monitoring presence in Georgia and hopes that, even now, when discussions have been suspended, that there will be a way to maintain such an important presence on the ground," said Ambassador Peter Semneby in address to the OSCE Permanent Council. "In this regard, I commend the tireless efforts of the OSCE Greek Chairmanship, in particular those of Ambassador Christopoulos," he added. Ambassador Semneby said that "the EU strongly supports a stable South Caucasus region with open borders, taking advantage of all opportunities for prosperity". "The launch of the Eastern Partnership in Prague three weeks ago makes it abundantly clear that the EU's commitment to the region has been raised to a new level of ambition," he added. The conflicts continue to present a fundamental obstacle for the stabilisation, political reform and economic development of the South Caucasus and regional co-operation is crucial. On the Geneva process, which the OSCE co-chairs together with the EU and UN, Semneby said that it was "imperative that the discussions start producing tangible results". So far one of the positive outcomes of the Geneva talks was agreement on the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) between all sides. On Nagorno-Karabakh, Semneby said that the EU continues to fully support the OSCE Minsk Group efforts. "The EU stands ready to offer support and any assistance necessary, in particular through stepping up our own efforts in promoting confidence-building measures and people-to-people contacts," Semneby added. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia provides info about arrested Armenian ex-MP Russian law enforcement agencies have provided information about the arrest of Tigran Urikhanyan. Lemkin Institue slams Pashinyan's “cryptic engagement with Genocide denial” The Lemkin Institute is alarmed over Pashinyan’s statements “questioning Armenia's legal basis to pursue justice against Turkey”. 41 detained as antigovernment protests continue in Yerevan 41 people were detained in Yerevan as people demanding Pashinian’s resignation stage campaigns of civil disobedience. Armenia votes for UN resolution granting Palestine new rights The U.N. General Assembly voted by a wide margin on May 10 to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine. |