On 11 November, Minister Vartan Oskanian received Political Director of Germany's Foreign Office Dr. Michael Schafer and French Deputy Secretary General for Political and Security Affairs Stanislas Lefevre de Laboulaye in the framework of their three-day visit to Armenia following similar trips to Baku and Tbilisi.

This visit is the first time when a format including senior officials of French and German foreign policy agencies is used in the context of regional policy of these two EU axis states.

The discussion that evolved within political framework of The Wider Europe and The New Neighborhood policy explored issues related to increased level of interaction between the countries of the South Caucasus and European Union and new opportunities offered by this new EU policy.

The parties stressed the importance of France-Germany axis for the success of this new EU policy and noted that this model could be followed in the South Caucasus in pursuit of peaceful and civilized co-existence in the region.

The parties further explored issues related to Armenia - Turkey relations against the background of imminent negotiations for Turkey's accession.

The parties also discussed the current stage and issues of Nagorno Karabagh conflict settlement. Minister Oskanian stressed Armenia's adherence to her commitment to settle the conflict through peaceful negotiations and the country's readiness to restart the negotiations at any moment subject to reciprocal readiness of Azerbaijan.

On the same day, the Foreign Ministry hosted a round table with participation of French-German delegation.