OSCE Chairman sends Special Envoy to Armenia to seek ways to defuse crisis

HELSINKI, 2 March 2008 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva, sent his Special Envoy, Ambassador Heikki Talvitie, to Yerevan today to try to help overcome a political crisis that led to violence and the declaration of a state of emergency.

Ambassador Talvitie, a veteran diplomat with long experience in the region, intends to meet outgoing President Robert Kocharian, outgoing Prime Minister and president-elect Serge Sargsyan, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian. The envoy is scheduled to arrive in Yerevan later today.

"I have sent my Special Envoy to try to bring both sides to the negotiating table and to find a way out of this crisis through political dialogue," said Minister Kanerva. "The OSCE considers dialogue central to stability, and stability is vital in the South Caucasus. Everything should be done to avoid further casualties and any further escalation of tension."