The persistence of protracted conflicts remains one of the greatest threats to security and co-operation within the OSCE area, the Lithuanian foreign minister has said.


In an interview with Eurodialogue.org, Audronius Azubalis stressed the importance of close work between the Lithuanian OSCE chairmanship and partners.
 

“It is really important that close work of the Lithuanian OSCE chairmanship and our partners facilitated the renewal of the official 5+2 negotiations on settlement of the Transnistria conflict. The negotiations have been stalled for nearly six years,” he said.

The diplomat also addressed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“As regards Nagorno-Karabakh, we have worked closely with the Minsk Group Co-Chairs and have made our contribution to prevent the volatile situation in and around Nagorno-Karabakh from getting worse. A joint statement has been agreed by the Heads of Delegation of the Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries and the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the margins of the Vilnius Ministerial Council on 6 December, where heads of delegations agreed on the need to continue the negotiating process in the format of the OSCE Minsk Group and to improve the climate for making progress towards a peaceful settlement.


The EU has confirmed recently its commitment to remain engaged and involved in the stabilization and conflict resolution efforts in Georgia and in the region. I am confident that strengthened relations between the EU and the three countries in the South Caucasus will also open new avenues for the resolution of the protracted conflicts,” he said.