Friday, March 23 2018 13:37

ArmInfo.The settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will contribute significantly to the overall security and stability in the region. This was stated in the interview to the magazine "UN Special" by the Armenian Ambassador to Switzerland and Armenia's Permanent Representative to the UN Headquarters Charles Aznavour. The interview was timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Switzerland, and RA membership in the UN.

In the context of the quarter-century Armenian-Swiss cooperation,  Aznavour noted that the friendship between the two peoples had arisen  long ago. "The political dialogue between the two countries  intensified after the opening of diplomatic missions in Armenia and  Switzerland, thanks to numerous high-level visits and close  interaction at international venues such as the OSCE, the UN, Council  of Europe, International Organization of Francophonie. I am also very  glad that Switzerland held two recent summits at the level of the  presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan within the framework of the  Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. I believe that the settlement of this  problem will contribute significantly to the overall security and  stability in the region, "Aznavour said.

In this context, he recalled that it was the OSCE Minsk Group that  has been mediatorally mandated by the international community since  the 1990s to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. Aznavour noted  that mediation depends on a package of proposals that are based on  such principles of international law as non- use of force,  self-determination and territorial integrity.

"The trilateral agreements on the cease-fire of 1994-95 signed by  Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan should be fully observed,  and in this connection it is important to create mechanisms for  investigating incidents on the contact line of the  Karabakh-Azerbaijani troops, as the mediators have repeatedly  stressed. the neighboring country will agree and will not impede the  implementation of this mechanism.This will save the lives of  18-year-old boys and civilians.The co-chairs also urge the  authorities to prepare societies for peace, and not for war. In  thirty years after Sumgait, the international community, including  the UN, should be more vigilant and attentive in efforts to  peacefully resolve conflicts that do not have alternatives for the  benefit of people living in the region, "Aznavour said.

In his interview, the ambassador also touched upon Armenia's  membership in the UN and its initiatives, the forthcoming  Francophonie summit in Yerevan, the efforts of the Armenian side to  prevent further crimes against humanity.