YEREVAN, MAY 24, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Parliament Speaker of Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov on May 23 received OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative on the South Caucasus Kristian Vigenin, press service of the National Assembly of Armenia informed “Armenpress”.

Welcoming the guest Sharmazanov presented him the Azerbaijani military operations unleashed in the Karabakh-Azerbaijani border on early of April and the hostilities and inhuman atrocities of the Azerbaijani side against the Armenian soldiers and the civilian people. Sharmazanov presented Kristian Vigenin the evidence of these atrocities some of which can be found in the website of the Baku State University.

Eduard Sharazanov said the Azerbaijani aggressive actions bear the signature of the “Islamic State”. He noted that Turkey openly supports Azerbaijan and keeps Armenia in blockade over 23 years. Deputy Parliament Speaker also stated that both Armenia and the Nagorno Karabakh want to reach the peaceful settlement of the conflict based on three international fundamental principles two of which are always being rejected by Azerbaijan. Eduard Sharmazanov expressed concern over the unaddressed calls by the international community, and he highly appreciated the OSCE’s addressed assessments over that issue.

“The Nagorno Karabakh has never been a part of Azerbaijan: it withdrew from the USSR, and the people of Nagorno Karabakh have used their right to self-determination like many other people in the world”, Sharmazanov said. He also emphasized that the conflict cannot be settled without the Nagorno Karabakh’s participation in the negotiation process.

Expressing gratitude to the warm reception Kristian Vigenin highly appreciated the active cooperation of Armenian parliamentarians in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and stressed the importance of frequent meetings.

Referring to the issue of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict Vigenin highlighted the necessity of making great efforts towards the establishment of peace in the region without questioning the OSCE Minsk Group mandate. He informed that he will prepare a report based on the results of his visits to Armenia and Azerbaijan and will present it in the OSCE PA annual session which will be held in Tbilisi.