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It is designed to form an intelligence community in Armenia by creating a Foreign Intelligence Service, and in that community the Foreign Intelligence Service will have an important role. The Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan said about this, presenting for debate in the first reading in the National Assembly the draft law on Foreign Intelligence Activity and Foreign Intelligence Service with the enclosed legislative package.

As the Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan informed, the proposing draft regulates the legal relations arising in the implementation of the foreign intelligence activity, defines the main principles of the foreign intelligence activity, the system of the bodies carrying out foreign intelligence activity, the powers, the structure, the formation, activity of the foreign intelligence service, working in the Service, holding position, dismissing from the position of the employee of the Service, terminating the service, the order and conditions of working in the Service, the classification of the positions and the titles, the employees’ responsibility, the legal and social guarantees, as well as other peculiarities connected with the service.

“Taking into consideration the circumstance that there exist subdivisions carrying out similar services in the Ministry of Defense and the National Security Service, where the service is military service, there is a political decision to create a new kind of state service, which will not be military service. With this an opportunity will be given to the newly created service for wider opportunities to have specialists,” Armen Grigoryan said.

The Security Council also informed that with the presented package the Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service becomes Member of the Security Council.

The deputy of the NA Armenia Faction Agnesa Khamoyan asked from the Secretary of the Security Council what Azerbaijan proposes or demands for opening Lachin road. Let us remind that the Azerbaijani so called ‘environmentalists’ closed the Lachin Corridor nine days ago.

Armen Grigoryan noted that Azerbaijan closed the Lachin Corridor for carrying out ethnic cleansing. The main goal is this. “Armenia continues working with all its colleagues that the Lachin Corridor would be opened as soon as possible, and the Armenians living in Artsakh avoid humanitarian crises,” Armen Grigoryan clarified.

The theme carried on the Secretary of the Armenia Faction Artsvik Minasyan, inquiring about the actions that the Foreign Intelligence Service should provide or promote for the implementation of the declared goals, for example, opening of the Lachin Corridor, the ensuring security of Artsakh, etc. “One of the main goals of creating Foreign Intelligence Service is that this Service will be able to get information on the security created around Armenia, even get information which is not publicly known. And make analysis on their basis about the security environment and provide information to the Prime Minister, and on that basis decisions should be made. That information will also refer to the security environment of Armenia, where Artsakh also has an important role,” Armen Grigoryan noted, adding that the Russian Federation (RF) is responsible for the Lachin Corridor: the responsibility of the Lachin Corridor was handed over to the RF by November 9 statement. “And I would like to hear interpellations from the opposition also in this direction, as the RF is mainly responsible for the Lachin Corridor,” the Secretary of the Security Council said.

Regarding the Service to created, it should get information and provide for analysis. That Service will not take actions, as its implementation is on their services.

The factions expressed their viewpoints relating to the initiative. On behalf of the NA Armenia Faction Artsvik Minasyan delivered a speech. The Secretary of the Faction touched upon the processes happened around Artsakh and going on now, noting: “Yes, we support the peacekeeping force that today is the only that ensures the security of Artsakh more or less. But we also called on the RF to take all necessary actions. Why don’t you refer to this?”

On behalf of the NA Civil Contract Faction Ruben Rubinyan delivered a speech, The NA Vice President referred to a voiced viewpoint, according to which, the road section illegally closed by the Azerbaijanis is not in the Lachin Corridor. “In reality the Lachin Corridor stretches from the border of Armenia up to Stepanakert,” Ruben Rubinyan specified, underlining that as well as other sections of the road are under direct control of the Russian peacekeeping troops.

In his final speech, the Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan related to the viewpoints voiced by the deputies.