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The member of the Armenian delegation to PACE Arusyak Julhakyan particularly said in her speech:

“Dear Colleagues,

Democracy is an ultimate value. And it is not accidental that the goal and the basis of the creation of the Council of Europe was upholding democracy, human rights and rule of law. Unfortunately, democracy worldwide is experiencing difficult times, and we should join our efforts for its safeguarding.

The rapporteurs are right when stating that the real democracy must be distinguished from the imitation of democracy, as the real democracy envisages not only a power and leverages for the political majority, but also a real opportunity to ensure the rights of the political minorities, as well as ensuring the rule of law. It is also extremely important to ensure checks and balances.

Unfortunately, sometimes we face situations when the authoritarian regimes try to imitate democracy thus casting a shadow on the content of the real democracy.

Colleagues, i t is worth mentioning that democracy has not only internal, but also a n external contex t. And s tates should be as democratic on international issues, as they are democratic in the internal ones . A state cannot have an internal democracy but meanwhile be anti-democratic concerning international issues.

Only genuine democracies can guarantee democratic security and achieve the common goal of pursuing peace based upon justice and international cooperation.

On the contrary, authoritarian leaders use conflicts, including frozen ones to seize and/or maintain power. That is why it is extremely difficult for democracies to negotiate peace with an authoritarian leader.

Colleagues, war is the enemy of democracy.

After 2020 war in Nagorno Karabakh a public debate in Armenia started. There was an attempt to argue that democracy and security exclude each other, and it is not possible to be a strong country while being democratic. However, the snap parliamentary elections showed that the Armenian people were wise enough to understand that democracy and security, democracy and strength do not exclude each other. They are interrelated, and it is not possible to be a strong country with healthy and strong population without democracy.

Colleagues, as I already mentioned only democracies can bring real peace, as democratic states do not fight with each other.

Therefore, it is my belief that we must use this platform to exchange our experiences of our democratic paths, we must join our efforts to safeguard democracy in our countries, which will in its turn contribute to the peace in the region. However, I think that for better results in these efforts we must firstly ensure that all of us have the same perception of the values the Council of Europe is based on.”