YEREVAN. – The official welcoming ceremony for OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swiss Confederation President, and Head of the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs Didier Burkhalter—who has arrived in Armenia on an official visit—was held Wednesday at the Armenian Presidential Palace.

Subsequently, Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Didier Burkhalter conducted narrow-format talks. 

Sargsyan stressed that Burkhalter’s visit is special for Armenia because the country hosts the Swiss president and at the same time the Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE, which deals with the Nagorno-Karabakh issue which is of vital importance for Armenia.

“Today we will discuss bilateral relations and our cooperation within the framework of the OSCE. I am glad that today you will meet also with the President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, and this is a very good opportunity for you to meet with all parties to the conflict and listen to their views,” the Armenian President specifically said at the talk.
Burkhalter, for his part, stressed that he is happy to be in Armenia following his visits to the two other countries in the region.

“There is a need to engage in a dialogue with all parties to the conflict, to solve the complex problems, and this is just what Switzerland would like so that solutions are found to the conflicts. I am very grateful that you have prepared two flags [Switzerland and OSCE], and this reminds us that we have two responsibilities here,” the Switzerland president stated, in particular.     

The Serzh Sargsyan-Didier Burkhalter bilateral negotiations were followed by an extended meeting between the official delegations.