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On March 13, the President of the RA National Assembly Ararat Mirzoyan received the delegation led by Miroslav Lajčák, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office.

Welcoming the guests Ararat Mirzoyan expressed conviction that the OSCE led by Miroslav Lajčák would continue the efforts aimed at the international security, the rule of law and protection of human rights, expressing the readiness of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia to support this agenda. The Head of the legislative body expressed gratitude the OSCE/ODIHR and the OSCE PA missions in December 2018 and the given impartial assessments, quoting the assessment voiced by the OSCE Observation Short-Term Mission Special Coordinator and Head, Slovak MP Peter Osusky on the elections, who particularly qualified them as ‘an Armenian wonder.’

Touching upon the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, Ararat Mirzoyan has underlined that Armenia greatly highlights the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship as an internationally only adopted format in the settlement of the problem. The Head of the parliament especially underlined the necessity of the participation of the Artsakh representatives in the negotiation process.

Miroslav Lajčák has noted that, as OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, assumes the commitment of making efforts in the peaceful settlement of the conflict, adding that we should work also in strengthening the atmosphere of mutual trust. In this context he emphasized the role of the parliamentary diplomacy as a factor promoting the peaceful settlement process of the conflict.

The President of the National Assembly has noted that the settlement is a bilateral process and in the establishment of peace the will of the countries’ authorities and peoples is important. According to him, Armenia in response to the efforts aimed at peace expects similar approach also by the Azerbaijani side. As a Head of the legislative body of the Republic of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan expressed his positive attitude on more effectively using the platform of the parliamentary diplomacy in the context of the peaceful settlement of conflicts.

In the opinion of the President of the National Assembly, we should continuously add the visits of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs and experts to Artsakh for getting familiarized with the problems on the spot.

During the meeting the sides touched upon the process of the electoral reforms, the legislators’ frequent contacts on the international parliamentary platforms and the exchange of experience.

With regards to the Armenian-Slovak bilateral relations the sides underlined the great potential of their deepening, and the expecting establishment of the Embassy of Slovakia in Armenia also would greatly promote it.