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On November 22-24, in Saint Petersburg the 9^th plenary and the CSTO PA Council sessions, the sittings of the Commissions on Political Issues and International Cooperation, on Social, Economic and Legal Matters, as well as the Expertise-Advisory Council adjunct to the CSTO PA Council were held. The RA NA Delegation was leading the RA NA Deputy Speaker, the Head of the RA NA Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO PA) Eduard Sharmazanov. The NA deputies Khosrov Harutyunyan and Karen Botoyan were in the Delegation. The RA NA Permanent Representative to the IPA CIS, Deputy Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Hayk Chilingaryan also took part in all the events.

On November 22, the Expertise-Advisory Council adjunct to the CSTO PA Council as held, where the NA deputy, the Chairman of the CSTO PA Commission on Political Issues and International Cooperation Khosrov Harutyunyan took part, at the sitting numerous model draft laws, agreements and the item on the results of the CSTO current activities aimed at the 2016 CSTO Collective Security Council Session and counteraction to challenges and threats were discussed. During the sitting Khosrov Harutyunyan proposed to revise mechanisms of the use of the documents under debate.

On November 23, the sitting of the CSTO PA Commission on Political Issues and International Cooperation was held, which moderated the Commission Chairman Khosrov Harutyunyan.

At the beginning of the sitting, before the approval of the agenda, the Commission Chairman Khosrov Harutyunyan proposed the Commission members to accept the recommendation of the Armenian Delegation and remove from the agenda the item of giving the National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan the status of the CSTO PA observer. Mr Harutyunyan has substantiated his position with the fact that the meaning of the Observer’s Institute is that it it gives opportunity to the CSTO PA to approve inter-parliamentary cooperation with the parliaments of the countries, which not being CSTO members, with their foreign policy and inter-state relations not only promote the rise of the CSTO collective security level, the non-formation of the new challenges and the neutralization of the current foreign military threats. In his word, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan without hiding supports Azerbaijan’s policy of solving the Karabakh conflict by the use of force, by that promoting the formation of the foreign military threats not only of Armenia, but also of collective security. Besides Turkey, Pakistan was the only state that publicly defended Azerbaijan’s April military aggression. Thus, the Armenian Delegation is against giving observer’s status to the parliament of that country. The Commission agreed with the Chairman’s recommendation, and the item was removed from the agenda of discussion.

Numerous items related to the CSTO PA activities, including the item of the Commission Chairman’s election were included in the agenda of the sitting. Commission Chairman was reelected Khosrov Harutyunyan. At the sitting issues of the results of the CSTO Collective Security Council sitting held in Yerevan in October 2016, the results of the RA Presidency to CSTO in 2016, the parliamentary monitoring on the military-political situation in the CSTO Security Central Asia Region were discussed.

During the discussion Khosrov Harutyunyan also proposed in future to work out a mechanism on affirming the results of the legal acts' use and military-political parliamentary monitoring.

On the same day the sitting of the Permanent Commission on Social, Economic and Legal Matters was held, where the NA deputy Karen Botoyan took part. At the sitting numerous issues were discussed: the results of the 2016 CSTO Collective Security Council sitting, energy security, international standards of providing humanitarian aid in emergency situations, as well as the organizational issues.

On the next day, on November 24, at Tavricheskiy Palace the CSTO PA Council sitting was held, where the Head of the RA NA Delegation to the CSTO PA Eduard Sharmazanov, the NA deputies Khosrov Harutyunyan and Karen Botoyan and the RA NA Permanent Representative to the IPA CIS Hayk Chilingaryan took part. The Speaker of the RF State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin. was elected CSTO PA Council Chairman.

At the CSTO PA Council sitting the item on the results of the sitting of the CSTO Collective Security Council in October 2016, as well as on the situation in the CSTO security zones, on the results of the CSTO current activity aimed at the counteraction to the challenges and threats, which reported the CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha. In his speech on this item the RA NA Deputy Speaker, the Head of the RA NA Delegation Eduard Sharmazanov has stressed that the problems of the collective security and the fight against xenophobia and terrorism are the unique items of our political agenda.

At the CSTO PA Council sitting the issue on the participation of the delegation of the CSTO PA International Observation Mission in the elections of the State Duma of the 7^th convocation of the RF Federal Assembly, which presented in detail the Observation Group Coordinator, the RA NA Deputy Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov, was also debated.

On the same day the CSTO PA 9^th plenary session, where the RA NA Delegation took part, was held. At the plenary session many legal documents were debated and passed, as well as the item on awarding the CSTO PA awards and diplomas was discussed.