“Let me reiterate on behalf of the Minsk Group co-chair countries that the foundation of any lasting and fair settlement must be the Helsinki principles as well as the six elements articulated by Presidents Medvedev, Sarkozy, and Obama on July 10, 2009 at L’Aquila and repeated at Muskoka on June 26, 2010. These proposed elements were conceived as an integrated whole and any attempt to select some elements over others would make it impossible to achieve a balanced solution,” stated U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her speech at Astana Summit, NEWS.am correspondent reports from Astana.

She stressed the importance of the combination of all these principles and elements, avoiding the possibility of separating one.

Clinton also emphasized unresolved conflicts hinder stability in OSCE area. The U.S. official urged OSCE to increase efforts to achieve regional stability.

As NEWS.am reported previously, on December 1, OSCE summit has opened in Astana, Kazakhstan. On November 30, the delegation headed by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan arrived in Astana to participate in the 7th OSCE Summit. The delegation comprises Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Ambassador-at-Large Arkadiy Ghukasyan and deputy head of presidential staff Vigen Sargsyan.

Lithuania will hold OSCE Chairmanship in 2011.