On April 18, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II met with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland.

Karekin II highly assessed the support of Council of Europe in Armenia’s reform implementation, noting that Armenia’s presence in the institution significantly contributes to the strengthening of democratic processes in the country.

Catholicos Karekin II voiced concerns over the European institutions’ decisions on RA laws on “military service” and “alternative military service”, stressing the need to consider the country’s peculiarities in such cases.

Social attitude towards religion, the spiritual leaders’ efforts aimed at the solution to regional issues and peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, as well as the role of the interfaith dialogue were further discussed.