PACE declares “no confidence” in Pedro Agramunt as PresidentApril 28, 2017 - 14:00 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), meeting in Strasbourg today (April 28), resolved that it has no confidence in Pedro Agramunt as President of the Assembly, PACE website said. It further resolved that Agramunt is not authorised to undertake any official visits, attend any meetings or make any public statements on behalf of the Assembly in his capacity as President. “The President chose not to attend the Bureau today, and has not presented a letter of resignation. As a result, and in the context of the current Rules of Procedure under which the President cannot be compelled to resign, the Bureau felt it necessary to take these steps,” said Sir Roger Gale (United Kingdom, EC), Senior Vice-President of the Assembly, after chairing the Bureau meeting. “The standards and principles of the Parliamentary Assembly are more important than any individual member, and the integrity of our Assembly must be upheld,” he added. The Spaniard had traveled to Syria in his capacity as a Spanish politician and not as a PACE representative. In March, Agramunt and ten other politicians from Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic, Serbia, and Belgium met with Russian lawmakers and Syrian President Assad in Damascus following an invitation by Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, the Speaker of the People's Council of Syria. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |