FM: “It seems racist”
"There will be no solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue through the application of the threat of force. The sides have to take serious steps toward conflict resolution and have to remove the snipers from the line of contact," said OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ireland Eymon Guillmore during a joint press conference with RA Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandyan today.
Guillmore stressed that "people living in this region deserve peace, not a "fragile" status-quo".
When asked why he doesn't visit the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Guillmore said "the OSCE was playing a supporting role and nothing more than that."
The OSCE Chairman-in-Office said he was planning on making his call for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution in Azerbaijan as well.
In response to one of the journalists' questions during the joint press conference, RA Minister of Foreign Affairs touched upon the statement made by his Turkish counterpart in which the latter had expressed his concern over the death of an Azeri soldier and had said that the Armenian side still hadn't responded to that in spite of the OSCE Minsk Group's efforts.
"The Turkish Foreign Minister's statement that he is concerned about the death of an Azeri soldier following the latest incidents seems racist. We have never heard the minister say he is concerned about the murders of Armenian soldiers resulting from the Azerbaijanis' provocations."
Nalbandyan also recalled that when Armenia didn't go against Turkey's involvement in the Minsk Group 20 years ago, some countries expected to see Turkey's impartiality and contribution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution. "However, as the past 20 years have shown, Turkey is not only not impartial and not neutral, but is also causing harm to the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process with its position. Question: Is Turkey's position compatible with its membership to the Minsk Group?"
