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On April 25 the RA NA President of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan received the Head of the EU-Armenia Friendship Group of the European Parliament Eleni Theocharous, members Ewald Stadler and Kyriacos Triantaphyllides, NA deputies of France Valérie Boyer and Gui Tessier, and the Honourable President of the University of Louvain, well-known scholar on Armenian studies Bernard Coulie.

The NA President thanked the European guests for being next to the Armenian people during these days and paying tribute to the memory of the victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide in Tsitsernakaberd. “With that, you reiterate your commitment to high universal human values and support to Armenia’s efforts towards achieving a full international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide,” Abrahamyan said. The member of the Friendship Group Ewald Stadler noticed that Europe had a moral obligation towards Armenian people not only in Armenia, but also in Nagorno Karabakh. Kyriacos Triantaphyllides also noted that Europe should express solidarity by fighting for Armenia’s Genocide recognition and assist in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the lifting of blockade by Turkey and Azerbaijan. The Greek MP said they knew by Cyprus’s example how difficult it was to persuade Turkey to confront its past. In Valérie Boyer’s opinion, we should make audible the facts of violation of human rights in the past, as well as now in Nagorno Karabakh and make the rich history and culture of Armenia and Artsakh accessible to the world.

The development of relations between Armenia and European Union, the new format of cooperation and perspectives was on the agenda of the meeting. Hovik Abrahamyan expressed conviction that the Parliamentary Friendship Group functioning in the European Parliament from January 9 would give new quality to the cooperation, making it more effective. According to the Head of the Parliament, the past three years’ dynamics of the development of relations witnesses good preconditions of cooperation between the legislative and executive bodies. The NA President expressed willingness to support all the initiatives and formats of cooperation by the Group. The Head of the Friendship Group Eleni Theocharous noted the necessity of deeper cooperation between the European Parliament and the Armenian Parliament, which would give the EU bigger opportunity to back Armenia and Armenian people.

In the course of the meeting the sides discussed the procedure of the implementation of the Armenia-EU Association Agreement, particularly its final round, and the issue of the EU visa facilitation. Hovik Abrahamyan conveyed the readiness of the parliament to ratify the Association Agreement and take further measures to bring Armenia’s legislation in compliance with the European standards.

The NA President presented to the MEPs the authorities’ positions on the Karabakh problem and the Armenian-Turkish protocols. He reiterated Armenia’s commitment to settle the problem based on the format proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group and the three principles: nations’ self-determination, territorial integrity, and non-use of force.

During the meeting other issues of bilateral interest were discussed.