YEREVAN (Public Radio of Armenia) — Following a two day visit to Azerbaijan, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Pedro Agramunt said “Azerbaijan continues to face the consequences of the deadlock over the conflict concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh region.”
“It is essential that solutions are found to the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions of Azerbaijan. This conflict not only destabilizes both Armenia and Azerbaijan, affecting their economies and their societies, but it also adversely affects the capacity of these countries to progress in the fields of democracy, human rights and the rule of law,” he said.
Addressing the statement by PACE president, Spokesperson for the Artsakh President David Babayan stated that “the statement is a result of caviar policy and lobbying or lack of knowledge.”
Babayan added that PACE and its representatives need to have a strong set of values, which should not be altered by any means.
“If the PACE President speaks about expansion of relations with a state that glorifies axe-murders, this is not progress. We must not be too sensitive towards these issues, but at the same time we have to do our best to strengthen our security and not rely upon some corrupt officials. We must pursue our national interests,” Babayan said.
In addition, the PACE President also mentioned in Baku that contradict the wording used by the OSCE Minsk Group, as well as the essence of the proposals on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict and are not conducive to the resolution of the issue, according to member of Armenian delegation to PACE Samvel Farmanyan.
“It’s a pity that the President of the Parliamentary Assembly goes against the opinion of the international community and uses the wording used by official Baku. In this regard, this is a problem not only for us, but also other Council of Europe member states, as Agramunt’s views do not reflect the opinion of the international community,” said Farmanyan.
“We must continue working, knowing that Azerbaijan uses the statements of international organizations or their leaders for domestic purposes, especially under the conditions of the current socio-economic crisis. We should bring to our international partners that unilateral views are not conducive to the perspectives of the conflict settlement. On the contrary, they can serve as a pretext for the Azerbaijani authorities for destabilizing the situation at the line of contact and the Armenian border,” Farmanyan concluded.
