YEREVAN, DECEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS. Members of the Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) assure that the formulations in the declaration, which is dedicated to the organization’s 25thanniversary, over the settlement of conflicts can in no way affect the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, reports Armenpress.

During a press conference in the Parliament, Gagik Minasyan – head of the Armenian delegation at the PABSEC, stated that this structure is not an independent body as it is subjected to the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, therefore, the Assembly is low with its status, and its decisions have no serious legal force.

“The formulation in the declaration over the settlement of conflicts has been added by the proposal of the head of the Ukrainian delegation and is mainly directed against Russia, but this formulation can in no way affect the settlement of conflicts, as well as that of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict”, Minasyan said.

He added that only the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship has a mandate to settle the NK conflict which was once again reaffirmed by the provision in the agreement signed between Armenia and the EU on the conflict settlement. “The Nagorno Karabakh conflict must be settled within the frames of the Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship format based on the three main proposed principles, therefore, the formulations in such declarations regarding the settlement of conflicts can have no impact on the conflict settlement”, Gagik Minasyan said.

Member of the Armenian delegation at the BSEC PA, ARF faction secretary Aghvan Vardanyan said the Assembly is exclusively an economic structure and has no mandate to give political assessments, thus, he considered unacceptable including the formulation regarding the conflict settlement in the declaration which has been made without discussing it with the Armenian delegation. “That political formulation was really absurd, but it is understandable since the Assembly’s session was being held in Kiev, Russia was not participating in the session and the head of the Ukrainian delegation tried to do something against Russia. They did it secretly, without discussing it with us since they knew that we will oppose as we have a clear stance that this structure should mainly focus on economic issues”, Aghvan Vardanyan said.

He added that the Armenian delegation, overall, put the remaining delegations in difficult situation by leaving the session hall after making a tough statement.

Member of the Armenian delegation, Tsarukyan faction secretary Vahe Enfiajyan said the formulation on conflict settlements has been included in the declaration by Ukraine, and it was a step against Russia. He is also confident that this formulation can in no way affect the existing conflicts, as well as the NK conflict settlement. The MP informed that the final decisions are made by the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, rather than by the Parliamentary Assembly, and the Organization adopts decisions exclusively based on consensus, this means that Armenia can cancel any formulation at any moment.