Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.2 / Trend, E.Tariverdiyeva /
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Petros Efthymiou expressed support today for the Irish Chairmanship agenda, including internet freedom and conflict resolution, during a meeting with Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Eamon Gilmore, the OSCE report says.
The Assembly's Special Representative on South Caucasus Joao Soares and Secretary General Spencer Oliver joined President Efthymiou in the meeting with Gilmore to discuss common goals to further the OSCE's comprehensive approach to security, the report says.
"The historic peacemaking work conducted in Northern Ireland should serve as inspiration for the OSCE's conflict resolution efforts and remind us that there is always hope to thaw the frozen conflicts in the OSCE region," Efthymiou said.
The Irish Chairmanship has announced its plans to hold in April a conference in Dublin about conflict resolution, bringing international experts together to discuss the Northern Ireland peace process as a case study.
Members of the Parliamentary Assembly have passed several resolutions in the last two years aimed at promoting dialogue to resolve conflicts, increasing the free flow of information online, and combating hate crimes, all chairmanship priorities.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France, and the U.S are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.