On May 19, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian arrived in Chicago to attend a meeting of heads of state, forces of which are involved in maintaining security in Afghanistan. The gathering was held as a part of NATO summit.

On the same day, Minister Nalbandian and RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan met with representatives of the Armenian community, including heads of religious, political and social institutions. The Foreign Minister conveyed President Serzh Sargsyan’s greetings and stressed that the NATO summit envisages adoption of a common assessment of conflicts in Moldova and the South Caucasus that “run counter to the principles of international mediation mandate on Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement in OSCE Minsk Group format.”

“Apart from harming Karabakh peace talks, this may pose threat to precarious stability in the South Caucasus region in view of unprecedented boosting of military spending and aggressive statements by Azerbaijani authorities. Considering this, Armenian President resolved not to participate in Chicago meeting,” Minister Nalbandian said.

He further dwelt on issues related to Armenian foreign policy, Karabakh resolution, recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, parliamentary election results, underscoring the importance of Armenia - U.S. cooperation and Diaspora’s enormous contribution to development of Armenia, RA MFA press service reported.