On May 14, 2003 Minister Oskanian met with SecretaryGeneral of the Council of Europe Mr. Walter Schwimmer, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Mr. Peter Shieder and its Secretary General, Mr. Bruno Haler.

During the meeting, the officials discussed Armenia-Council of Europe cooperation, regional relations, Armenia's progress in fulfilling its obligations to the Council, and the possibility of normalizing relations with Turkey. Secretary General Schwimmer went on to praise Armenia for its quick progress in meeting its obligations, and stated that he hoped the understandable delays in abolishing the death penalty and making certain constitutional reforms would be promptly corrected.

The Foreign Minister and Secretary General Schwimmer also spoke about the presidentialelections and the upcoming parliamentary elections. Minister Oskanian signed the "European Convention on Landscape" which aims to encourage public authorities to adopt policies and measures at local, regional, national and international levels for protecting, managing and planning landscapes that determine the quality of people's living environment.

Prior to the session, three new Council of Europe legal instruments were signed by a host of countries, including Armenia. They are the Protocol amending the European Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism, the Convention on Contact Concerning Children, and the Additional Protocol to the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption.