December 8, 2010 - 16:27 AMT
EU-Armenia parliamentary cooperation committee urges to secure Artsakh’s participation in negotiations

Chairperson of the RA NA Standing Committee on European Integration Affairs Naira Zohrabyan said that a final statement was adopted based on the results of a sitting of EU-Armenia parliamentary cooperation committee held on December 1-2 in Brussels.

The statement reads that there is no alternative to peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict and that the parties should respect this principle and spare no efforts for the peaceful resolution of the conflict, Zohrabyan told a press conference in Yerevan.

According to her, a range of key aspects of the Karabakh conflict settlement are fixed in the statement.

“First, it refers to importance of the pentalateral statement adopted in Astana. Second, the statement authors express belief that efforts should be exerted to create a positive atmosphere for the conflict resolution, as well as hail the calls of the OSCE Minsk Group on withdrawal of snipers from the conflict frontline. And third, it is of great importance that the statement points to the necessity of all parties’ participation in negotiations. It is evident that this refers to Karabakh’s involvement in negotiations,” said Naira Zohrabyan.

She noted that many members of the European parliament noted during the sitting in Brussels that hasty decisions, which are very often based on incomplete or unreliable information, are adopted in the European parliament with respect to the Karabakh conflict.

Member of the committee Larisa Alaverdyan noted for her part that : the committee’s statement will serve as a good lesson for MEP Evgeni Kirilov, whose South Caucasus report contained provisions running counter to the OSCE position.