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On April 13 the Head of the Armenian delegation to the PACE Hermine Naghdalyan and the members of the delegation Naira Zohrabyan, Mher Shahgeldyan, Levon Zurabyan, Arpine Hovhannisyan, Vahan Babayan met with the PACE President Anne Brasseur who arrived in Armenia on a working visit.

Welcoming the PACE President’s visit to our country, Hermine Naghdalyan has noted that after joining the Council of Europe, Armenia has participated in all the works at all levels of the CoE and fulfilled the assumed obligations. The Head of the Armenian delegation to the PACE Hermine Naghdalyan presented the works done and the reforms going on in different spheres. She has stated the works going on in the spheres of judicial-legal and police, gender equality, sexual relations and the legal protection of religious minorities.

Hermine Naghdalyan has detailed the process of the constitutional reforms, has touched upon the issue of the NK conflict settlement and again has assured that in this aspect Armenia highlights the discussions in the OSCE Minsk Group format and the solution of the problem sees exclusively through peaceful settlement and the NKR participation.

She has informed the PACE President Anne Brasseur that beginning from summer the firing by Azerbaijan has become frequent, as a consequence of which the victims have increased several times in the line of contact, which, according to her is connected with the report “Escalation of Violence in Nagorno Karabakh and in Other Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan” being in circulation in the PACE. Mrs Naghdalyan has noticed that the efforts of Armenia are not sufficient for the settlement of the problem, as Azerbaijan continues its bellicose rhetoric and actions.

In this context the sides talked about the low level of trust and the deficit of impartiality.

The Head of the delegation also talked about the Armenian-Turkish relations and prevention of protocols and has noted that Turkey continues keeping Armenia in blockade.

Referring to the Armenian Genocide Centennial, the Head of the Armenian delegation to the PACE emphasized he recognition and condemnation of genocides especially in terms of preventing its repetition.

The members of the Armenian delegation to the PACE Naira Zohrabyan, Mher Shahgeldyan and Levon Zurabyan talked about the inner-political situation and processes, presented their concerns and positions related to the issues under debate and other items. The members of the Armenian delegation have spotlighted the creation of the union initiated by the PACE deputies, the aim of which is to fight against hatred, intolerance and denialism.

The PACE President Anne Brasseur thanked for the warm reception and touched upon the raised questions. She has highlighted the making of united efforts for the solution of different problems. Referring to the judicial-legal sphere, she has emphasized the independence of judicial bodies and the increase of the trust of public towards them, deemed necessary the exclusion of impunity. Ms Brasseur also touched upon the constitutional reforms, underlined the necessity of their compliance with the CoE standards and noted that the constitutional reforms should not be an aim in itself: in her word, they should become an instrument for making the country powerful. She also emphasized the necessity of fight against corruption.

Hermine Naghdalyan has also talked about the necessity of cooperation of the NKR with the PACE, indicating that the parliamentary format is the best for such cooperation, in response to which the Head of the PACE has stated that the NK population is part of the CoE 820mln family, about which they should take care in the Council of Europe.

On the same day the representatives of the NA Factions also met with the PACE President Anne Brasseur.

Referring to the report entitled “Escalation of Violence in Nagorno Karabakh and in Other Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan” it has been noted that in the PACE the RA NA delegation is not going to cooperate with the rapporteur of the document Robert Walter, as it does not believe the impartiality of the report. Hermine Naghdalyan has underscored that the report is ordered by the Azerbaijani delegation. In response to Ms Brasseur's recommendation to raise the level of trust between the delegations, Mrs Naghdalyan has stated that its precondition should be to reject such reports by the PACE.

By the assessment of the representatives of the factions, the author of the report on the NK, first he should visit Karabakh and get acquainted with the people of Artsakh from the close distance. They proposed the PACE President to visit Nagorno Karabakh with the observation mission during the NK parliamentary elections in future and highlighted the participation of the deputies of the parliament of that country in the debates regarding the NK in the Council of Europe.

Speaking about opening the archives in the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the recommendation of implementing the historical study, the members of the parliamentary factions documented that the Armenian Genocide was studied by the specialists long ago and recognized.

It has been stated that Armenia does not hide anything in the archives, and the Armenian Diaspora is the evidence of the fact that because of the genocide the Armenian people were spread all over the world.

Talking about the NK conflict, Anne Brasseur emphasized the settlement of the problem. In respect of the Armenian-Turkish relations the PACE President, attaching importance to the dialogue and contacts between the two countries, has noted that the sides should put aside the preconditions, also underlining that with reconciliation with the past it is not possible to build the future. To her evaluation, the fact that the Pope of Rome Francis the day before in the Saint Peter Cathedral called the mass killings Genocide, it is one step in the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

In the course of the meeting the sides also touched upon other issues of bilateral interest.