Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister  called European entities to  speak  minds related Yerevan OSCE office cancellation  Baku efforts 

ArmInfo.Shavarsh Kocharyan,  the Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister, thinks that European entities,  and especially OSCE , should voice their principal position in  respect to  Baku's efforts to put embargo on  OSCE Yerevan office  mandate extension. "European entities accepted easily the decision on  cancellation of OSCE  coordinator's office  in Baku, which caused  consequences we have now," Shavarsh CKocharyan said to journalists  on January 19  after the Government session. 

According to Kocharyan, the problem is that all the decisions of OSCE  are taken based on consensus, and Azerbaijan uses this opportuniy.  According to Kocharyan, Baku gets to arm twisting  stating that can  block the budget ( OSCE branches and institutions have common  budget), if things go in other way than Azerbaijan expects. "There  are many tools to stress the country that puts itself over  international norms," Kocharyan mentioned. 

To remind, the operation of the OSCE Office in Yerevan hangs in the  air due to  the lack of consensus on extension of its mandate. The  OSCE Offices  in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan face the same situation.  The mandate for  operation of the OSCE Offices is extended annually  on the basis of  the OSCE Participating States' consensus.     

Meanwhile, Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tigran Balayan says   that Armenia backs the OSCE Office in Yerevan and consistently   provides assistance within the frames of OSCE corresponding  decisions.  He notes that since the OSCE Office in Baku was closed,   the OSCE Office in Yerevan has been the only full representation of   the Organization in the South Caucasus. Balayan states that the role   of the OSCE Office in Armenia is valued by OSCE Chairmanship, OSCE   Secretariat and other institutions of the Organization, as well as by   the absolute majority of the Participating States, except for one.    "The OSCE is known to operate based on consensus, and notwithstanding   the wide support, it has been impossible to reach agreement so far on   the extension of the OSCE Yerevan Office's mandate. Austria's OSCE  chairmanship currently continues the negotiations on coordination of   the draft decision, and Armenia also participates in the   consultations as the host country.