‘We are ready for dialogue’ – Armenian Speaker of Parliament presents Azerbaijani provocations to CIS IPA delegates

YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. During the session of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan drew the attention of the delegates to the current situation in Nagorno Karabakh, the recent Azerbaijani incursion into the area under the responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Karabakh and highlighted the importance of the complete implementation of the trilateral statements.

In his remarks at the session, Alen Simonyan also congratulated the CIS delegates on the 30th anniversary of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly. He particularly touched upon the CIS inter-parliamentary cooperation both at inter-state and multinational formats after the signing of the Almaty declaration. He said the CIS contributed to the maintenance and strengthening of political, socio-economic and humanitarian ties, the further development of state-building of the countries in the post-Soviet space.

He assured that Armenia has always supported raising the role of the CIS IPA in international arena, strengthening the organization’s partnership with international, regional organizations and partners. Talking about the role and opportunities of the parliamentary diplomacy, he highlighted it especially on matters relating to peace and security.

Drawing the attention of the session participants to the current situation in Nagorno Karabakah, Alen Simonyan particularly presented the March 24 incursion of the Azerbaijani armed forces into the village of Parukh in Askeran region, which is under the responsibility zone of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, which, he said, is a gross violation of the 2020 November 9 trilateral statement. The Armenian Speaker of Parliament said the use of weapon and a UAV led to human losses and wounded.

“We expect that the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno Karabakh will take practical steps to settle the situation and prevent new losses and combat operations and will return the Azerbaijani troops back to their initial positions”, he said.

The Speaker called the situation in Nagorno Karabakh very tense. He said these actions could lead to a new escalation in the region amid the ongoing tense security situation in the world. Alen Simonyan said Armenia highly appreciates the Russian defense ministry’s addressed statement, which, however, was countered by the Azerbaijani side. The Speaker told his colleagues that a number of post-war humanitarian problems still remain unresolved, particularly mentioning the issue of the Armenian prisoners of war, hostages, whose number is 38 according to the data confirmed by Azerbaijan.

The Speaker also emphasized the necessity of preserving the Armenian historical, cultural and spiritual heritage in the territories that have come under the Azerbaijani control after the war.

“The guarantee of the rights and freedoms of Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh, the issue of the status of Nagorno Karabakh are fundamental and principle matters. We have repeatedly stated that this conflict is not a territorial issue, it’s a matter of rights. In this context we attach importance to the complete implementation of the 2020 November 9 and the 2021 November 26 trilateral statements signed by the Prime Minister of Armenia, the Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan. Like in the past, Armenia attaches importance to the normal relations with neighbor states. We are ready for dialogue that should lead to the establishment of lasting peace in the region, and for this reason by affirming the previously adopted stance, we propose Azerbaijan to start immediate negotiations on signing a peace treaty”, the Armenian Speaker of Parliament said in his speech.