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PACE Spring Session was convened in Strasbourg, and the RA NA delegation also took part in it. The member of the Armenian delegation, the member of the NA Civil Contract Faction Hripsime Grigoryan gave an opening speech at the meeting of the session.

“Honorable President,

I want to take the opportunity to speak about a highly important event for my country that took place on April 5 in Brussels.

It is a trilateral meeting between the Prime Minister of Armenia, the EU Commission President and High Representative and the US State Secretary. The agenda of the meeting was outlined last year in Granada during a meeting between my Prime Minister and the EU Commission President - joint EU-US support to Armenia's economic resilience and empowerment. But even beyond this, the event itself was unprecedented in its format and powerful political messaging.

“We believe that a stronger and a more stable Armenia means a stronger and more stable South Caucasus,” Jozep Borrell, High representative stated in his announcement.

“We share the vision of the future of the people of Armenia. We want Armenia to take its place as a strong, independent state in peace with its neighbours, connected with the region and the world.” - Secretary Blinken has stated.

And these statements best reflect the alignment of visions of Armenia, EU and the US in our region, where Armenia is seen a democratic partner and supporting her sovereignty and resilience is considered essential.

Another crucial point for us is the support to the Crossroads of Peace Initiative introduced by Armenia which aims to promote connectivity and dialogue with our neighbouring countries and broader region. We seek to integrate our initiative with the EU’s Global Gateway Strategy. The EU Commission President stated that the EU will explore cross-border transport, while Secretary Blinken underlined that the US supports the ideas “that are at the heart of the “Crossroads of Peace” proposal by Armenia”.

The above mentioned has outstanding importance considering the relations of Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process. The peace talks, however, are moving slowly due to lack of political will by Azerbaijan. Baku has criticized the April 5 Brussels meeting, naming it “non-inclusive.” However, if there is a party that contributed to non-inclusivity, then it is Azerbaijan refusing to participate in the Granada talks, or not inviting PACE to monitor the elections in Azerbaijan.

Armenia stands strong on the position of promoting the Peace agenda and regulating relations with Azerbaijan.

“A prosperous, sovereign, and democratic Armenia that develops its own partnerships and freely sets its own course will contribute to regional stability” – is the concluding statement from the trilateral meeting.

Armenian democracy needs Europe, EU to stand shoulder to shoulder with us. Let’s take our cooperation to new horizons,” Hripsime Grigoryan noted.