1 / 12

On March 21, the RA NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations moderated by Eduard Aghajanyan convened an extraordinary sitting.

The RA Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan presented the report on the work done in the foreign relations in 2021 on the Implementation Process and Results of the RA Government Programme for 2021 (2021-2026) approved by the N 234-A Decision of the RA Government on February 28, 2022

According to the Minister, the RA Government adopted the state strategy of opening an era for the formation of the security favourable environment around Armenia and Artsakh, the peaceful and stable development. “During the year 2021 the actions of the Ministry were directed to bringing to life that strategy,” Ararat Mirzoyan noted and added that the full recovery of the negotiation process for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict under the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship with the prior emphasis of the Artsakh situation and the Artsakh Armenians’ rights had been of priority.

“In this respect during the year we have achieved certain successes, as two meetings between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship took place in New York and in Paris in 2021,” the rapporteur said.

The Government continued the work of the involvement of the international organizations and the humanitarian missions in Artsakh. At the meetings taking place in bilateral format and in the international structures, including the Council of Europe, the UN, the OSCE, Armenia continued drawing the attention of the international community during the aggression against the Nagorno Karabakh and after that at the highest level the manifestation of Armenophobia, the destruction of the Armenian cultural and religious heritage, the military trophy park, as well as the encroachments towards the RA territorial integrity and other crimes committed during that period by Azerbaijan.

According to the Head of the Foreign Ministry, Armenian prisoners of war and the civilians are still illegally held in Azerbaijan, and Armenia continues to voice the issue of the urgent return of Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and other held persons in the international different formats.

The unblocking of the transport infrastructure and the economic ties in the region has been an important direction in the work of the Ministry. The Minister also spoke about the steps being taken in the direction of the demarcation and delimitation process, highlighted the inviolability of the RA borders, the investment of the mechanisms aimed at the further stability and ensuring the residents’ security.

Regarding the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, Ararat Mirzoyan documented that on 24 April 2021 the U.S. President Joe Biden addressed a message recognizing and condemning the Genocide, and on May 6 the Parliament of Latvia officially recognized and condmened the Armenian Genocide.

Speaking about the traditional partnership relations, the rapporteur noted that during the reporting period the Armenian-Russian strategic and ally partnership had continuously developed, the bilateral agenda had expanded, including the new directions of deepening and expanding of cooperation in the spheres of trade, economy, industry, agriculture, energy, transport and information technologies and in a number of other spheres.

The Armenia-USA high level dialogue continued. In 2021, the ratification process of the RA-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement ended, and from March 1 it had fully entered into force. The Government revised and passed a package of guideline initiatives to the European Union for the 2.6bln support designed for Armenia from the structure through financial various tools within the framework of the Eastern Partnership. During the reporting period efforts aimed at the deepening and strengthening of the Armenian-French privileged relations and the comprehensive agenda continued.

The Minister also talked about the steps implemented in deepening cooperation with Iran, Georgia and a number of other countries. “In the context of the settlement of the relations in the region there was also an important development that in 2021 due to the public statements made by the high ranking officials of Armenia and Turkey a process of dialogue started at the level of special representatives,” the Foreign Minister underlined.

Ararat Mirzoyan answered to the deputies’ questions.

The Committee also debated and approved the creation of Armenia-Qatar Friendship Group.