On April 18 the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Mr. Tigran Torosyan, met with the lecturers and students of the Artsakh State University in Stepanakert within the framework of the inter-parliamentary cooperation sitting between the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and the National Assembly of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh.

Opening the meeting the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh Mr. Ashot Ghulyan noted that within the frameworks of the inter-parliamentary cooperation sittings it’s the first time that such step is taken – meeting with the university lecturers and students, discussing with them political, economic, scientific-cultural issues of the two Armenian states.

The Speaker of the National Assembly Mr. Tigran Torosyan, touching upon the expansion of the frameworks of the works, noted that from now on those meetings will become traditional and involve different institutions and organizations, also out of Stepanakert, as well as the bordering settlements. He expressed confidence that the style of work will make the committee works more practical and effective. In his speech the Speaker of the National Assembly presented the details of the draft statement being discussed in the National Assembly on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh issue – the goal, problems, the mechanisms of solving them, then he touched upon the post-election processes in Armenia. The questions addressed to Mr. Torosyan related to the solution of the Nagorno Karabakh issue – the recognition of the NKR, the policy pursued by Azerbaijan, events in Armenia, which have their immediate response in the Nagorno Karabakh. The NA Speaker ensured that nobody can succeed to drive a wedge between the two countries irrespective of the steps taken, and Armenia will do its utmost in solving the Nagorno Karabakh issue, closely cooperating with the President of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh, Speaker of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. At the end of the meeting the rector of the Artsakh State University Mr. Hamlet Grigoryan by the decision of the scientific board of the University handed over a diploma of an honourable doctor to the NA Speaker, highly assessing his intellectual capabilities, patriotic activity and many years old scientific works that serve as an example for the youth.

In the NKR National Assembly a sitting of the Inter-parliamentary Cooperation Committee between the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and the National Assembly of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh was held, having on the agenda the issues of the perspectives of the programmes in regard to the issues of the parliamentary diplomacy of the current tendencies of the settlement process, European Integration in the context of the NKR and RA inter-parliamentary cooperation, as well as the legislative principles of the citizenship and dual citizenship.

Opening the sitting, the Co-chairmen stressed the re-start of the Committee works after one-year break conditioned by the parliamentary elections in Armenia and expressed confidence that the Committee with the staff of the new MPs will work effectively and have its contribution in strengthening the two Armenian states, creating legislative bases for the solution of the current issues.

Mr. Tigran Torosyan introduced the draft statement on the settlement of the NK issue being under discussion in the National Assembly of Armenia, highlighting that the interruption of the discussion gave opportunity to discuss it with the counterparts of the parliament of the Nagorno Karabakh.

The Speaker of the National Assembly of the NKR Mr. Ashot Ghulyan presented the draft conclusion on the process of the international recognition of NKR and the prior steps stemming from it discussed at the expanded sitting of the factions of the Nattional Assembly of NKR on April 2. It was noted that the parliamentary factions Democracy, Fatherland, ARF-Movement-88 of the National Assembly of NKR considered necessary to propose the NKR President and the Government to take practical steps in the direction of the legal classification of the inter-state relations with the Republic of Armenia, aiming to enshrine the current level of the cooperation and indicate the new superiorities stemming from the regional and international developments. In the conclusion, the immediate participation of the NKR in the negotiation process and its argumentation as a precondition of possible effectiveness, the elaboration of the security concept of the national security of NKR and submitting it to the National Assembly are highlighted. Meanwhile, it’s envisaged to set up a special working group of the strategic analyses and information issues in the system of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and put before the latter the problems of organizing campaigning and preventive anti-campaigning, coordinating and spreading, and in campaigning and anti-campaigning use the potential of the permanent representations of NKR, Armenian Diaspora, as well as more consistently call into life the comprehensive efforts directed to the international recognition of NKR, fully involving also the possibilities of the parliamentary diplomacy and the Republic of Armenia and Diaspora.

During the lasting and thorough discussion the MPs asked numerous questions, which related to the details of the right to self-determination and recognition of NKR, threat of re-start of war, threats regularly sounding by the Azerbaijani side and using effective counteraction of spreading disinformation, the importance of the joint works of the state management bodies of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. It was noted that the two documents that were drafted and discussed in the two parliaments, should serve for the united goal – settlement of the problem.Noting that the draft statement being under discussion in the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia is fully covered in the press, the Speaker of the National Assembly of the NKR Mr. Ashot Ghulyan touched upon the proposal of including the historical-legal substantiations, the background of the issue in the statement, considering it not in place and saying that it will make the draft statement more in the content, while in the text of the statement everything is said in the aspect of things to be done and the action programme.

The second issue of the agenda, the perspectives of the programmes related to the European integration, the discussion of the inter-parliamentary cooperation between NKR and RA was detailed and lasting too. In the proposals of the MPs of the two parliaments the compliance of the NKR legislative field with the international standards was stressed. It was noted that now in the National Assembly of NKR works for complying the legislative field with the Constitution, adopted recently, are carried out. Highlighting that issue, the NA Speaker Mr. Tigran Torosyan noted that the laws should be based on Constitution, and the Constitution of NKR fully complies with European standards. At the same time the mechanical placement of the laws into the legislative field cannot mean European integration. Finally, the European countries have laws essentially differing from each other but the common values unite each other, which should be decisive also in this case and the displays of the traditions and experience of the country should be important in the laws. There were proposals to submit to the discussion with the representatives of the international structures in the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia also the legislative experience of the NKR parliament, involving the deputies of the National Assembly of NKR at the discussions of draft laws regulating the political and economic sphere in Armenia. It was recorded that in the recent years a lot of work was done in the aspect of law making activity in the National Assembly of NKR – the death penalty was eliminated, the Criminal Code was worked out, a law on regulating the activity of the local-self government bodies was adopted, also reforms of judicial system were made, and a few days ago, adopting a relevant law, the first Defender of Human Rights of NKR was also appointed. There was a proposal to jointly elaborate a list of international conventions, which the NKR can join. Summing up the discussion of the issue, Mr. Torosyan noted that important proposals were sounded, the summing up of which will help to make concrete the issue.

The third issue - the legislative principles of citizenship and dual citizenship and the discussion of the issue of the development perspectives of the demographic situation of NKR the Speaker of the National Assembly of NKR Mr. Ashot Ghulyan conditioned by the necessity of the adoption of the relevant law, the draft law of which is being prepared. The proposals over this issue will be summed up and included during the elaboration of the draft law.

The two Co-chairmen summed the works of the Inter-parliamentary Cooperation Committee between the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and the National Assembly of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh in the joint press conference for the journalists.

The NA Speaker of the Republic Armenia Mr. Tigran Torosyan and the members of the National Assembly met with the NKR Prime Minister Mr. Ara Harutyunyan.

The NKR Prime Minister highlighted the economic developments in the context of political events. According to him, for the establishment of the effective cooperation, first of all, in the two states the heads of the government should clarify things to be done and regulate the legal-contractual relations. He especially stressed the establishment of practical relations between the institutions, noting that they are mainly of fragmentary nature being solved by chance, and ending the discussions in the NKR government he is intended to meet the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Mr. Tigran Sargsyan.

As the first sitting of the Inter-parliamentary Cooperation Committee is convened after the change of the heads of the government in the two countries the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Mr. Tigran Torosyan congratulated Mr. Ara Harutyunyan on the occasion of holding the post and expressed confidence that the former MP had a good opportunity to successfully carry out also the programmes of the National Assembly. Mr. Torosyan expressed willingness of the support of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia in his endeavours. He said that the government of the Republic of Armenia ended the execution of the state budget report of 2007 that is going to be debated in the parliament and ensured that the executive of the article of allocating state credit to the NKR will be paid attention to. The NA Speaker highlighted the fact of giving new quality to the effectiveness of cooperation, as the implementation of the reforms of the second generation will give new quality to the processes of the two countries and qualitatively a new way of life to the citizens of the two countries. The cooperation was highlighted in the aspect of creating legal bases for the defense and guarantees for security.

On the same day the President of NKR Mr. Bako Sahakyan received the delegation headed by the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Mr. Tigran Torosyan, and they summed up the results of the visit, which were assessed by both sides very effective.

On April 19 the meeting of the delegation with the head of the Artsakh Diocese Pargev Archbishop Martirosyan is scheduled.