YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. The general atmosphere in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is directed to the issues concerning Armenia, in particular the issue of the return of Armenian captives from Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan’s recent incursion into Armenia’s territory, Member of the Armenian delegation at PACE, MP Hovhannes Igityan said during a press conference.

“All rapporteurs and representatives of almost all PACE member states believe that it’s impossible to move forward without the return of captives. When we talk about forming an atmosphere of trust, it’s clear that this is impossible without the return of captives”, the lawmaker said.

The MP noted that Azerbaijan’s recent incursion into Armenia’s territory has also been discussed at PACE, during which parallels were drawn with Turkey’s militaristic operations in the Mediterranean Sea.

“What Azerbaijan does? Firstly, in infiltrates into Armenia’s territory and then says “let’s negotiate”. We, together with our colleagues, have raised the issue that any negotiation is impossible when military forces are present”, the lawmaker said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan