YEREVAN, JANUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. President Sargsyan is pleased with the parliament’s works aimed at transitioning to a parliamentary administration system.

During a meeting with the leadership of the Parliament, President Sargsyan noted that since May 18 of 2017, the Parliament adopted 268 laws, 15 of which are completely new laws.

“The nearly 8 months of your work showed that the Parliament is indeed the central and main platform of Armenia’s public and political processes. This fact was fully reflected not only in the plenary sessions of the parliament, but also in the works of the standing committees, as well as during parliamentary hearings. An important role is reserved to the new body which was formed as result of the constitutional amendments – the Parliament Council. It must develop and get enhanced, by significantly contributing to the efficient organization of your work”, the President said.

President Sargsyan stressed that the Parliament must act as an important platform of joint work and dialogue of the majority and minority. “From this perspective, not everything is proceeding smoothly and swiftly, like in all democratic countries of the world. During plenary sessions, sometimes not only the opposition, but also representatives of the ruling power give in to emotions and heat up the atmosphere, but these are normal issues of democratic development and growth, which I am certain will calm down with time. I have to mention here that I appreciate the Speaker’s consistency and patience in the interactions with certain Members of Parliament. In any case, we must continue strengthening tolerance and mutual respect in political discussions. Representatives of the ruling power must be more restrained – taking into account their status”, Sargsyan said.

The President expressed hope that the work of parliamentary diplomacy won’t be harmed during this period, be it in multilateral structures or bilateral cooperation.

“We will certainly have chances to address this issue in detail. If you want, we can touch upon these issues today also, if not, then during discussions. In yearend, in December, the 3rd Against the Crime of Genocide global forum will be held, in the organization and holding of which the parliament must implement its unique contribution, according to the tradition”, Sargsyan said.

He added that overall it is obvious that the quality of the parliament’s work has grown.