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On October 9 the RA NA President Galust Sahakyan received the delegation led by the Member of the European Parliament, the Head of the European Union-Armenia Friendship Group Eleni Theocharous.

Welcoming the guests in the parliament, the RA NA President congratulated Mrs Theocharous for being reelected Member of the European Parliament and wished her an effective work.

Galust Sahakyan has noted that he is well aware of Mrs Theocharous’ biography, particularly, the humanitarian mission fulfilled by her during the Karabakh conflict. The NA President has thanked her for her friendly and cordial attitude towards our country and assured that Mrs Theocharous’ next visit to Nagorno Karabakh will give an opportunity to directly get informed about the NKR authorties’ viewpoints on the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, as in such cases there is no better means than to see with her own eyes and communicate with people.

The RA NA President has noted that the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh is one of the most important priorities of the RA foreign policy, and the Armenian authorities seek to solve it through peaceful means under the aegis of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. That is the only format of the Nagorno Karabakh problem settlement. Nevertheless, the settlement of the problem does not seem realistic, if Azerbaijan does not once and for all refuse the harmful policy of bellicose campaign and implementing provocative actions in the line of contact.

The RA NA President has expressed satisfaction with the effective cooperation existing between the RA Embassy in Brussels and the Armenian Dat/Cause Office, particularly, with Mr Gaspar Karapetian. He has expressed hope that the cooperation will continue.

Then Galust Sahakyan has noted that he is also glad to see Bernard Coulie in the delegation, who with his knowledge of History of Armenia and Armenian language, perhaps with the Armenian way of thinking is a close person to us, and it is due to his activity that during his visit to Nagorno Karabakh a conclusion of an agreement between Luvain-la-Neuve University and Stepanakert University is envisaged.

The RA NA President has noted the he is well aware of the book “Sponsored to Kill: Mercenaries and Terrorist Networks in Azerbaijan” authored by Ioannis Charalampidis, which has received a great response in Armenia, as well as in the international expertise framework.

Referring to the EU-RA cooperation, Galust Sahakyan has noted that the European Union has been and continues to be one of the important counterparts of the Republic of Armenia. It has been repeatedly underlined that the cooperation with the EU is based first of all on the common value system, and the Republic of Armenia is resolute to continuously deepen and extend the relations with the European Union. According to the NA President, Armenia together with the European counterparts will resume extending and deepening the process of institutional reforms directed to the continuous reinforcement of democracy, human rights and rule of law. Galust Sahakyan has highlighted the parliamentary format of the Armenia-EU cooperation. This is the platform which for many years has served for the free contact of the representatives of political groups and free exchange of thoughts over the issues of bilateral importance.

Touching upon the Armenia-Turkey relations, the Head of the parliament has noted that the settlement of the relations is important in the regional, as well as international context. The international community is aware of Armenia permanently coming up with constructive initiatives, as for example, the Armenian-Turkish protocols signed in Zurich in 2009, and the Turkish authorities have disgracefully failed its further ratification.

During the talk referring to the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, Galust Sahakyan has stressed that just as Cyprus, so too the European Parliament was one of the firsts to recognize the Armenian Genocide and has expressed hope that the guests will take part in the events dedicated to the Centennial of April 24 Genocide to be held in Yerevan. The presence of the officials arriving in Armenia from the European Parliament, as well as from the whole world, will be the most obvious evidence of selfless devotion to the all-human values.

Thanking for the warm reception, Eleni Theocharous has noted that they will be next to the Armenian people during the events dedicated to the Centennial of the Genocide, expressing their support. She has noted that it is necessary to address the whole world, condemning the crime against humanity. Referring to the relations with Turkey, she has noted that Cyprus is in the status of hostage today and has stopped the negotiations with Turkey. She has noted that in the future events are scheduled dedicated to the problems of Nagorno Karabakh and Cyprus in the EP.

Afterwards the RA NA President Galust Sahakyan awarded Eleni Theocharous the RA National Assembly Medal of Honour for her significant contribution to the strengthening of traditional friendly relations and deepening of Armenia-European Union cooperation, and Bernard Coulie, Ioannis Charalampidis and Gaspar Karapetian got the RA National Assembly diplomas.