OSCE concerned about Armenia's rejection of Turkish observersMay 11, 2007 - 15:23 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Urdur Gunnarsdottir, Spokeswoman for the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights based in Warsaw, said her office was concerned about Armenia's rejection of Turkish observers for May 12 parliamentary election. "The fact of rejection proves insufficient transparency of the election. Armenia breaches an important OSCE principle. Inviting one observer implies inviting representatives from all of 55 OSCE member states," she said.When asked whether the OSCE can apply sanctions against Armenia, Ms. Gunnarsdottir said, "In such cases OSCE doesn't apply sanctions. The goal of our organization is to contribute to the vote and send observers. This is a political but not a juridical task. I can't say what kind of consequences Armenia can face but I can say for sure that OSCE won't apply any sanctions," Deutsche Welle reports. Armenian Foreign Ministry's Acting Spokesman Vladimir Karapetian said the rejection of Turkish observers is conditioned by the absence of diplomatic relations between Yerevan and Ankara. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. Ruling MPs, Foreign Minister talk Armenia-Azerbaijan processes MOs from the ruling Civil Contract party met with the Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in the Armenian parliament. Russia: Armenia’s frozen membership weakens CSTO position in Caucasus A Russian envoy said any step that could alienate the CSTO member states from each other is “deeply wrong”. |