On June 30 at the PACE summer plenary session the issue “Forest Fires: the Environmental Consequences and the Influence of the Regional Planning Policies” was debated, around which from the beginning of the session at the committee sessions the members of the Azerbaijani delegation gave speeches, condemning Nagorno Karabakh for firing the areas.

Tigran Torosyan, RA NA President, head of the Armenian delegation gave a speech on this issue. He noted that Mr. Txueka has prepared an important and good report, where he fairly mentioned that during the recent years the draught caused due to climatic changes not only greatly hits the agriculture, but it considerably increased the number of the forest fires and surface areas burnt. The suggestions that the speaker made for combating the forest fires are very necessary. Then Mr. Torosyan noted: “The problem, certainly, is very important, but I wouldn’t probably give a speech, if our Azerbaijani colleague, Mrs. Hajiyeva, in this chamber didn’t call on to apply to my support as a colleague and Parliament President of Armenia. I appreciate the confidence of our Azerbaijani colleagues towards me and I would like to respond without waiting for your call. I’ll help our colleagues, at the moment but only within the framework of today’s debating issue, as I have respect towards the Rules of Procedure.

Here’s why. Three years ago the authorities of Nagorno Karabakh, concerned that fires were blown up in bordering pastures, proposed the Azerbaijani authorities to cooperate and elaborate joint mechanisms for preventing them through OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. Azerbaijan didn’t respond that proposal. The obvious difference of the approaches of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan to the problem of fires is also seen from the developments of recent events. While Azerbaijan makes a noise, on June 15 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nagorno Karabakh applied to the office of OSCE President’s personal representative, demanding to hold a site monitoring for evaluating the situation and denying Azerbaijan’s false accusations. It has been several days that the OSCE representatives studied the bordering site and they haven’t discovered any common thing with Azerbaijan’s announcements.

Unfortunately, the hatred, aggressive behaviour, lie, falsification and invented accusations towards Armenians and Armenia spread, the means that Azerbaijan applies everywhere during the debate of any issue. With that purpose even the documents of the Council of Europe are falsified. This is a defamation toward PACE, values and principles of the Council of Europe. PACE tolerance towards the country not respecting its principles and values becomes a new impetus for such behaviour.”

Hermine Naghdalyan, member of the Armenian delegation also gave a speech on that theme and conveyed her thanks to Mr. Iňaki Txueka for the comprehensive report and presenting in detail the reasons and consequences of the fires, the modern technologies of preventing and extinguishing them, also touched upon the behaviour of the Azerbaijani delegation, that is, justify all their own problems and put all the blame on the neighbour Armenia. In Mrs. Naghdalyan’s opinion, the fires, first of all, damage the Karabakh people and there is no sense to destroy the agricultural areas and the harvest. Mrs. Naghdalyan also noted that the photos presented by the Azerbaijani delegation in reality are of Azerbaijani origin, the Azerbaijani posters are seen on the photos. The aim of this political speculation is the deviation of the world community’s attention from the fact of the destruction of the Armenian cross-stones in the territory of Azerbaijan.

On June 30 PACE summer session ended its works.