"The challenges that the whole world is facing today force us to be more vigilant in matters related to peace and stability.
Taking into account the above, Armenia continues its constructive involvement in negotiations aimed at the full normalization of relations with Azerbaijan," Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said in his speech at the 31st session of the Council of Ministers of the OSCE.
He noted that this year the bilateral negotiations led to the signing of the regulation on border demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, by which the Alma-Ata declaration of 1991 was adopted as the basis for demarcation.
"On the ground, we managed to demarcate more than 12 km of the border, and we hope that this document will pave the way for the effective continuation of the process and thus significantly contribute to the establishment of stability in the region.
We have also made some progress towards the signing of the Peace Agreement between our two countries.
We have agreed on the preamble and 15 of the 17 articles of the draft agreement, and if there is sufficient political will, it can be quickly finalized and signed. Armenia has continuously proved its readiness to sign the agreement and close the page of hostility in the South Caucasus.
We are convinced that peace has no alternative, because the people of our region have already suffered a lot from bloody conflicts.
Despite all difficulties, we are determined to continue our efforts to achieve the desired goal. In this context, the "Crossroads of Peace" channel project proposed by the Armenian side has a great potential to increase trust, strengthen the atmosphere of trust and promote better cooperation between the countries of the region," he noted.
Speaking about Armenia-Turkey relations, Ararat Mirzoyan said.
"We believe that the complete settlement of relations between Armenia and Turkey, especially the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of borders, can be another important contribution to peace and stability in the region.
To this end, we continue the dialogue with our Turkish partners and implement some practical steps, including a joint assessment of the technical requirements for the bridge between Armenia and Turkey, as well as the border crossing on the Gyumri-Kars railway on the peoples beyond the borders.'
