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On June 24, the RA NA President Alen Simonyan being on an official visit in Vienna met with the President of the National Council of the Republic of Austria Wolfgang Sobotka. After leaving a note in the Book of Honorary Guests Alen Simonyan-Wolfgang Sobotka private talk followed, then - the extended meeting.

The RA NA President thanked his Austrian colleague for the invitation and congratulated him on the 30^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Austria.

The sides documented that during three decades a mutually beneficial, reliable cooperation based on historical ties and universal values was established.

The RA NA President noted that Armenia attaches great importance to bilateral relations and initiatives promoting the activation of the inter-parliamentary cooperation. “I am sure that the firm relations and contacts between the MPs, as well as the parliamentary diplomacy have considerable role in the advancement of the Armenian-Austrian bilateral agenda,” he assured.

Alen Simonyan expressed conviction that in case of having Austria-Armenia separate Friendship Group the inter-parliamentary ties will further strengthen.

At the core of discussion were the relations of Armenia with the European Union (EU), the European colleagues and the liberalisation of the EU entry visa regime. The RA NA President underlined that the entering into force of Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is a turning point moment, which will open new perspectives for deepening Armenia-EU cooperation.

Wolfgang Sobotka expressed an opinion that democracy is not an award, but a result of everyday life. According to him, we shall maintain peace and democracy, which is also the priority of the activities of the parliaments.

At the meeting the situation following the 44-day war was touched upon. At his colleague’s request, Alen Simonyan briefly presented the problems demanding humanitarian and prior solutions caused because of war.

In this context, he highly appreciated the resolution on the destruction of cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh adopted by the European Parliament on March 10, which “strongly condemns Azerbaijan’s ongoing policy of destroying and denying the Armenian cultural heritage in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.”

“I am looking forward to the adoption of such a resolution by the Austrian Parliament, which will refer to purely humanitarian issues, such as the release of more than 4 dozen Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees, the protection of cultural heritage, etc. It will be a vivid reflection of national commitment of Austria to humanitarian law and protection of human rights in armed conflicts,” RA NA President concluded.

At the end of the meeting, Alen Simonyan invited the President of the National Council of the Republic of Austria Wolfgang Sobotka to Armenia.