Chairman-in-Office discusses Nagorno-Karabakh prospects during visit to Armenia

YEREVAN, 5 March 2002 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Portugal's Foreign Minister, Dr. Jaime Gama, visited Yerevan on 4 and 5 March at the start of his planned four-day visit to the South Caucasus, which will also include trips to Georgia and Azerbaijan. He was accompanied by representatives of the OSCE Troika.

In Yerevan, Dr. Gama met with President Robert Kocharian, Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and representatives of the National Assembly. A meeting was also held with the "President" of Nagorno-Karabakh, Arkady Ghoukasian.

The focus of all discussions was on the current prospects for a successful, peaceful resolution of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh and the role that the OSCE can and does play in this process. In addition, in his meetings with the President and the Foreign Minister, there was a detailed exchange of views on Armenia's relationships with other countries in the region.

Progress in the areas of legislative reform and economic growth were discussed in the meetings with the Prime Minister and parliamentarians. The pro-active role of the OSCE Office in Yerevan in fostering these developments received positive comment.

On Tuesday evening, the CiO was due to travel on to Tbilisi, capital of Georgia, where he will meet with Government officials, before continuing on to Azerbaijan for meetings in Baku on Thursday.