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On July 21, the 37^th sitting of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee on Cooperation between the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation presided over by the RF FA Deputy Speaker of the RF FA Federation Council Yury Vorobyov and the RA NA Vice President Hakob Arshakyan took place in the city of Irkutsk of Russia.

In his welcoming speech, Hakob Arshakyan underlined that the friendship of the Armenian and the Russian peoples was formed during the centuries-old history, and those relations are considered to be the basis of the Armenian-Russian inter-state cooperation, which today develops based on the principles of allied interaction.

The NA Vice President touched upon the regional security and the existing threats and the illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor.

“It has already 7 years that the Lachin Corridor is the only road connecting the Nagorno Karabakh with the outside world, continues remaining illegally under blockade by the authorities of Azerbaijan. The efforts of Armenia are directed to resuming the peaceful process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. We conscientiously take part in the negotiations, but in parallel with the negotiations we still face the threat of force and the use of force. The population of Nagorno Karabakh stands before the ethnic cleansing and the real threat of genocide,” Hakob Arshakyan underlined.

The NA Deputy Speaker also referred to the agenda of the ongoing sitting. “Today’s sitting is dedicated to the scientific-educational cooperation of Armenia and Russia, as well as inter-regional inter-higher educational institution interaction. In the viewpoint of solving the global problems in the conditions of the civilized crisis the scientific-educational sphere is the most important factor, and in reality is considered to be one of the stable bases of the development of the modern economy,” he noted.

The RF FA Deputy Speaker of the RF FA Federation Council Yury Vorobyov also highlighted the friendship formed during the centuries-old history of the Armenian and Russian peoples, the role of Diaspora within the framework of the Armenian-Russian inter-state cooperation.

At the meeting reference was made to the process of ratifying the Rome Statute, the importance of not

damaging the strategic relations between Armenia and Russia was underscored.

At the end of the sitting, the Memoranda of Cooperation were signed between the Kotayk Marz/Region of Armenia and the Irkutsk Oblast/Region of Russia, the cities of Armavir and Irkutsk.

By Hakob Arshakyan’s proposal, the 38^th sitting of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee on the Armenian-Russian Cooperation will be held in the city of Dilijan, in Armenia in 2024.

After the end the sitting the Co-Chairs of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee accompanied by the members of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee on Cooperation between the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation laid a wreath and flowers at the Eternal Flame of the Victory Memorial Complex.

On July 21, within the framework of the 37^th sitting of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee accompanied by the members of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee on Cooperation between the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation the RA NA Vice President Hakob Arshakyan met with the Governor of Irkutsk Oblast Igor Kobzev and the Armenian community of Irkutsk.