Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued the following statement today (29 June) on his forthcoming trip to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia:

“We must not allow the present turmoil in Europe to distract us from the situation in the Southern Caucasus. The Nagorno‑Karabakh conflict has the potential to escalate at any time. This year, with Germany at the helm of the OSCE, it is our responsibility to contain this threat as far as possible – by consolidating the ceasefire, through confidence‑building measures and by an imminent return to negotiations. The same is true for the territorial conflicts in Georgia. By holding the Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Tbilisi, we are furthermore underscoring the importance of strengthening parliamentarianism in the OSCE.”