Athens Calls For OSCE Permanent Council Special Meeting On Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Athens Calls for OSCE Permanent Council Special Meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias called for an emergency meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on the recently escalated conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, the Greek government said in a statement on Wednesday

ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th September, 2020) Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias called for an emergency meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on the recently escalated conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, the Greek government said in a statement on Wednesday.

"In a letter to the Albanian Chairmanship of the OSCE, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias requested a special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council to discuss the issue immediately. Furthermore, Nikos Dendias will pay a scheduled visit to Yerevan," the statement said.

According to the statement, the initiative is aimed at examining possible ways to de-escalate the crisis with the involvement of both conflicting sides.

"The above mentioned letter concerns Greece's readiness to contribute to the efforts to de-escalate the crisis immediately. Greece's readiness was also expressed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias to his Armenian counterpart, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, during their recent telephone conversation, during which the close ties of friendship between Greece and Armenia were reaffirmed," the statement noted.

The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on Sunday, when Yerevan and Baku accused each other of provoking military hostilities. Azerbaijan claimed that the Armenian Armed Forces had shelled settlements on the contact line in the area and Yerevan, which supports the breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, said the area had been subjected to attacks.