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On May 24, the RA NA Vice President Eduard Sharmazanov and the Vice President of the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany Edelgard Bulmahn made a joint statement for the representatives of media.

Summing up the results of today’s meeting Eduard Sharmazanov has noted that Armenia highlights the development of the relations with Germany in all directions. According to Eduard Sharmazanov, the sides emphasize the development of the inter-parliamentary cooperation both at the level of Friendship Groups and Committees. In the RA NA Vice President’s word, the development of bilateral relations was also attached importance in the context of Armenia-European Union relations. He has underlined that among the European Union member states Germany is an important partner for Armenia. The parties expressed hope that that cooperation will also be continuous in future.

At the meeting they also touched upon the regional developments: Eduard Sharmazanov has documented that the Republic of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh Republic are exclusively for the stability and peace. The NA Vice President presented to his colleague facts about the crimes committees by Azerbaijan in the April war, including the tortures committed against the soldiers and civilians. Touching upon the problem of Nagorno Karabakh Mr Sharmazanov noted that it should be settled exclusively through peaceful means: in the OSCE Minsk Group format. According to Eduard Sharmazanov, for resuming the negotiations it is necessary to carry out the agreements, which after the meeting of the Presidents of the two countries in Vienna the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries mentioned in their statement. The NA Vice President has noted that those recommendations are also acceptable for the German side: today Mrs Bulmahn also confirmed that. In this context both sides highlighted the investment of the mechanisms of trust and investigation on the line of contact. “Moreover, we find that the problem should be solved, having as a basis the principle of the realization of the right of self-determination, the peaceful settlement and the territorial integrity, but at the same time everybody should be conscious that the realization of the Nagorno Karabakh people’s right to self-determination has no alternative,” Eduard Sharmazanov said.

The key issue of the meeting was the Genocide condemnation, and touching upon this Eduard Sharmazanov has informed that the Draft Resolution on Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey will be discussed in the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany on June 2. The NA Vice President thanked Edelgard Bulmahn for her brave and rightful posture. “Today again Mrs Bulmahn reaffirmed her personal view that 1915 events have been nothing but Genocide.” The NA Vice President expressed hope that his German counterparts will fulfill a great mission on June 2, recognizing the Armenian Genocide and the genocides of the Christian peoples living in Ottoman Turkey.

Talking about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict the Vice President of the Bundestag has expressed hope that it will not be solved through military means and has called on the parties to preserve the new agreement reached over the ceasefire. Highlighting the establishment of the monitoring mechanisms on the line of contact Mrs Bulmahn has underscored that it will be an important precondition in preventing the further escalation of the conflict.

Referring to the debate of the Draft resolution jointly revised by the Christian-Democratic Faction, Social-Democratic Party and the Greens Faction of the Bundestag Edelgard Bulmahn noted that in the Resolution, first of all, the violence committed against Armenians and other Christian nations in the Ottoman Empire will be condemned. “It is always important to keep alive the memory about the past; that is why we will commemorate the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims, also we will condemn the infamous role of the German Empire, as at that time Germany has been the main ally of Ottoman Turkey and had not prevented the crimes committed by Turkey,” the Vice President of the Bundestag documented.

She reminded that in 1998 the Government of Germany issued a number of documents which were also presented to the Governments of Armenia and Turkey. As the Vice President of the Bundestag has noted, it is evident in the documents that Germany with its diplomatic channels has been aware of the Ottoman Empire’s plan. That is the reason that the Resolution refers to Germany’s complicity in the issue of the Armenian Genocide, therefore, Germany assumes historical responsibility to face the reality,” the German MP said.

In the word of the Vice President of the Bundestag, the number of the people, who courageously face their history and critically refer to the policy pursued by the Ottoman Empire, increases in Turkey.

Taking into consideration the dark pages of the history of Germany, Mrs Bulmahn has noted that they can help the Armenian and Turkish peoples to find common language for dialogue. According to the Vice President of the Bundestag, though it is difficult, but it is a possible political path. Summing up the briefing the RA NA Vice President Eduard Sharmazanov added: “After investing the monitoring mechanisms we will not need any more to call on the parties, but we will call on the one, that has always violated them.”