The 113rd Ministerial Council of the Council of Europe just concluded in Kishinev, Moldova. Armenia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vartan Oskanian attended the meeting.

The theme of the ministerial meeting was Council of Europe - European Union cooperation. There was also discussion on preparations for the upcoming Council of Europe Summit next year.

Minister Oskanian addressed these issues in his statement. On Europe, he said, "In the early 21st century, Europe has ceased to be a place and has become a definition. Today, Europe means democracy, human rights, rule of law. Europe is the Helsinki Final Act and it's security and cooperation. Europe is a council and a union. Europe is all of us who wish to live without borders or fences, without fear or aggression, in peace and prosperity."

In the context of an evolving Europe, Minister Oskanian commented on regional relations.

"Europe's rules force us to reexamine our own actions and activities. Contemporary views of regional cooperation, regional conflicts, regional compromises are strongly influenced by the experiences and successes of Europe after the two World Wars and the Cold War. Warring neighbors found that they could accept new borders based on realities on the ground and move on. Europe's nation-states found that they could transcend borders, without diminishing or ignoring cultural spaces, without expecting historical identities to vanish.

"In the Caucasus, Armenia and her neighbors live with unresolved conflicts. It is obvious then that Armenia believes in and participates in efforts at regional cooperation and the utilization of confidence building measures in order to create an environment in which European conclusions can be found to entrenched conflicts.

"This is what we want for Armenia, for Nagorno Karabagh and for our neighborhood -- visionary, creative, tolerant responses based on good will. The formula we seek for our conflict is one that assumes that tomorrow we will live next door to a neighbor and not just an enemy. Our borders defining our territories will identify our cultures and identities, not be obstacles to free exchange and cooperation," he said.

During the meeting the Minister was a rapporteur on the theme of human trafficking. He reported on the subject to the ministers in attendance, speaking both about the situation around the world, and particularly in Armenia, and the Armenian government's response to what is still a limited, but potentially grave concern.

In the margins of the Ministerial Council, Minister Oskanian met with Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen. Ireland will assume the presidency of the EU in January. The two Ministers discussed bilateral issues, Armenia-EU relations, the Nagorno Karabagh conflict, as well as Armenia-Turkey relations and the role the EU can play in improving regional interactions.