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The Chair of the RA NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations Eduard Aghajanyan, the Chair of the Standing Committee on Defense and Security Andranik Kocharyan and the Committee members presented the security issues, the post-war situation, and the negotiation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan in detail at the meeting with the U.S. House Democracy Partnership (HDP) Congressional Delegation led by Chairman David Price.

It was noted that the actions of Azerbaijan are a serious challenge to efforts aimed at security and stability in the region. The issue of immediate repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians held in Azerbaijan was considered a priority. Expressing gratitude to the American side for the efforts aimed at the return of the captives, Eduard Aghajanyan stated that, nevertheless, Azerbaijan continues to hold more than 30 Armenian captives hostage. The Committee Chair expressed hope that the U.S. efforts in this regard will be continuous.

Referring to the rights of the people of Artsakh, Eduard Aghajanyan emphasized that today they are at risk of ethnic cleansing. “If we do not succeed with the international community in ensuring minimum security guarantees while protecting the rights of these people, then ethnic cleansing will become a fact,” the representative of the Civil Contract Faction recorded.

“Any part of our sovereign territory is not subject to negotiations, as well as the Armenian democracy. Armenia needs political and diplomatic support in these two main directions,” Eduard Aghajanyan said, condemning the fact of the invasion of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces into the RA sovereign territory.

Andranik Kocharyan referred to the security issues of the people of Artsakh, highlighted the support of the international community on this matter. The MP of the Civil Contract Faction valued the implementation of the observation mission, spoke about the steps aimed at strengthening stability and peace in the region, the importance of army building and reforms in the armed forces.

Armen Rustamyan, a member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations, emphasized the preservation of international standards and the restoration of the balance of power in order to establish stable and irreversible peace in the region. According to the representative of the faction, today the balance of power is broken in favor of the Azerbaijani-Turkish tandem.

According to Hayk Mamijanyan, a member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations, the right to self-determination is the right to survival for the people of Artsakh. The representative of the With Honor Faction expressed an opinion that comprehensive negotiations are needed, which will include the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and the RA-Azerbaijan relations.

“We have a general reaction and attitude towards the events that happened: videos of tortures and killings, inhumane treatment. We participate in the processes aimed at releasing the captives. We are against the invasion into the autonomous territory of the Republic of Armenia. We have repeatedly called on the Azerbaijanis to leave the territory of Armenia,” David Price underlined. He reaffirmed the readiness of the U.S. House of Representatives to assist Armenia in the created situation.

The importance of interaction between the legislative bodies on various parliamentary platforms was discussed at the meeting. The U.S. support for the process of democratic reforms was highly appreciated.