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Armenia Won’t Back Turkish Candidate in OSCE

Armenia will not be supporting Turkey’s candidate for the OSCE Secretary General position, said Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs press spokesperson Tigran Balayan.

Recall, Habertürk yesterday published a story in which it said Turkish President Abdullah Gul intends to send a letter to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, asking the Armenian leader to endorse Turkish diplomat Ersin Ercin’s candidacy in the upcoming elections of the OSCE Secretary General. The letter is to be handed to Sargsyan by Ercin himself during his official visit to Armenia in Mar. 2011.

Ambassador Ercin believes his visit to Yerevan will remove psychological barriers between the countries.“I will represent an international organization rather than a separate country. If I were Armenian or Greek, I would support the Turkish representative.”

The three other candidates for the OSCE Secretary General post are OSCE PA President Joao Soares, Austria’s former foreign minister Ursula Plassnik and UN special representative for Kosovo Lamberto Zannier (Italy).