A/RES/54/117 Page 4 14. Welcomes the decision of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to take under its auspices the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe, launched at the initiative of the European Union, adopted by the Cologne Ministerial Conference in June 1999 and endorsed by the Sarajevo Summit in July 1999, and to develop a regional strategy to support its aims; 15. Notes the principles embodied in the Helsinki Final Act; 16. Fully supports the activities of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to achieve a peaceful solution to the conflict in and around the Nagorny-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, and welcomes cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in this regard; 17. Applauds the intensified dialogue between the President of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan, whose regular contacts have created opportunities to dynamize the process of finding a lasting and comprehensive solution to the Nagorny-Karabakh conflict, firmly supports this dialogue and encourages its continuation, with the hope of resuming negotiations within the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and welcomes the fact that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and its Minsk Group, which remains the most appropriate forum for finding a solution, stand ready to advance further the peace process and its future implementation, including by providing all necessary assistance to the parties; 18. Encourages further close cooperation between the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the United Nations in the peace process in Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Georgia, including through the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Georgia and the United Nations Human Rights Office in Sukhumi, and fully supports that organization in its efforts aimed at the implementation of practical measures agreed at the Istanbul Summit and the decisions of the Oslo Ministerial Council Meeting; 19. Fully supports the efforts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe aimed at achieving a settlement of the problems in the Transdniestran region of the Republic of Moldova, welcomes the commitment of that organization to facilitate the implementation of the relevant decisions of the Budapest and Lisbon Summits, the Oslo Ministerial Council Meeting and the Istanbul Summit, and notes in this regard the commitment by the Russian Federation, undertaken at the Istanbul Summit, to complete within a specific timetable the withdrawal of the Russian forces from the territory of the Republic of Moldova; 20. Welcomes the increased presence of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Central Asia and the readiness of that organization to contribute, inter alia, together with the United Nations, to strengthening cooperation in the region, as well as the commitment of that organization to promote democratic institutions and assist the Central Asian countries in addressing economic and environmental problems; 21. Requests the Secretary-General to continue exploring with the Chairman-in-Office and the Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe possibilities for further enhancement of cooperation, information exchange and coordination between the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; /...