On November 21 the representatives of NA factions Mr. Artak Davtyan (RPA), Mr. Vardan Bostanjyan (PAP), Artsruni Aghajanyan (Country of Law Party), Lilit Galstyan (ARF Dashnaktsutyun) and Larisa Alaverdyan (Heritage) met the members of the Monitoring Committee of Ministers’ Committee (Ago Group) of the Council of Europe led by the permanent representative of Romania in CoE, Ambassador Mr. Stelian Stoyan.

At Mr. Stoyan’s request the members of NA factions presented their considerations on cooperation within the framework of the Council of Europe, prior reforms and normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations.

The representatives of NA factions unequivocally recorded that one of the priorities of Armenia’s foreign policy was the European integration, and they always received the support of the Council of Europe. Among the priorities being implemented in Armenia they, in particular, distinguished the reforms of the Electoral Code, in the spheres of protection of human rights and judiciary. According to the speakers, the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations should undergo without preconditions and the speculations on the Armenian Genocide and Karabakh problem should be excluded, in connection with which the representatives of ARF Dashnaktsutyun and Heritage expressed their concerns.

During the meeting the sides touched upon the developments followed the 2008 RA presidential election and the actions undertaken in overcoming the consequences the March 1-2 tragic events. Mr. Stelian Stoyan recorded serious progress in this sphere and proposed to make continuous the steps undertaken to increase the trust of the society towards the state bodies and to form public consent. He ensured that the Ministers’ Committee of the Council of Europe had always been willing to show necessary support to Armenia in overcoming the obstacles on the way to European integration.

On the same day the members of the Monitoring Committee of Ministers’ Committee (Ago Group) of the Council of Europe met the Chairperson of the NA Standing Committee on European Integration Ms. Naira Zohrabyan and the Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations Mr. Armen Rustamyan.

Noting that the cooperation with the National Assembly had always been effective and purposeful, Mr. Stoyan asked the Committee chairpersons to reaffirm the maintenance of the principles of that cooperation and present their expectations.

Ms. Naira Zohrabyan noted that Armenia’s striving to Europe was not an aim in itself, and the European integration was declared one of the priorities of the foreign policy of the Republic of Armenia. She is convinced that the cooperation with the CoE will be more inclusive and continuous. Ms. Zohrabyan, touching upon the RA law on Television and Radio, noted that that the law had been revised jointly with CoE and determined distinct and accurate mechanism of holding competitions, which will exclude the previous gaps as much as possible. Regarding the conclusion of the NA Ad-hoc Committee on March 1 Events, Ms. Zohrabyan, as a member of that committee, noted that they had done the most serious proposals, and at this moment two models of the proposal is being discussed in the parliament for following their fulfillment and implementing monitoring. Speaking about the reforms in the Electoral Code the Committee Chairperson said that the a working group had been again set up in the parliament on this issue, and the parliamentary, as well as extra-parliamentary forces would take part in those works.

Ensuring the willingness of retaining the traditions of the cooperation Mr. Armen Rustamyan highlighted the use of the mechanisms, being guided by the provisions of PACE resolutions in the right organization of the reforms in the country.Touching upon the electoral processes Mr. Armen Rustamyan noted that in the reforms of the Electoral Code he was expecting the support of the Council of Europe. According to his assessment, without electoral effective system full democracy cannot be formed. Mr Rustamyan also touched upon the relations of power and opposition, the problem of raising the role of the opposition in the parliament and the reforms in the judicial system.

At the end of the meeting the sides expressed hope that for the stable development of the country it was possible to solve the problems through political dialogue, strengthening the trust of all layers of the society towards the authorities.