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On February 4, the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Galust Sahakyan received Ms Judith Margaret Farnworth, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Welcoming the guest, the Speaker of the National Assembly underlined that during the recent years, activation of bilateral political contacts had been recorded between Armenia and Great Britain, and the cooperation between the two countries had considerably risen, documenting the current level of the political dialogue and trade-economic relations, nevertheless, it is still insufficient. Galust Sahakyan has expressed conviction that there are no real obstacles for the activation of the Armenian-British relations, and Armenia is concerned about expanding the economic, trade and cultural relations with Great Britain.

Galust Sahakyan in his turn has noted that he would do his utmost for the progress of the Armenian-British inter-parliamentary cooperation.

The Speaker of the National Assembly touched upon the two Resolutions on Nagorno Karabakh during the Winter Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) which, by his assessment, were distorting the reality and inhibiting the peaceful negotiation process over the Karabakh problem, misleading the international community. The Head of the parliament has noted that the Resolution “Escalation of Violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Other Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan” authored by the former British MP Robert Walter, was not adopted by voting due to PACE MPs, who voted for justice. “That Resolution contained serious danger, as it was an inadmissible attempt by Azerbaijan and its co-thinkers to move the settlement of the Karabakh problem to parallel platforms,” said Mr Sahakyan. The Speaker of parliament has noted that Armenia continues remaining adherent to the negotiating process going on under the auspice of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, which observes the internationally recognized only platform of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.

Thanking Galust Sahakyan for the reception Ambassador Ms Judith Margaret Farnworth also emphasized the development of the bilateral relations in the educational, trade-economic, cultural and other spheres. In terms of deepening of the Armenian-British cooperation, the Ambassador assessed the bilateral visits of the delegation at different levels between the parliaments of Armenia and Great Britain.

In the course of the meeting the sides touched upon the process of the Constitutional reforms. The Ambassador welcomed the decision of the authorities of the Republic of Armenia to turn into parliamentary system. Regarding Robert Walter’s anti-Armenian report Ms Judith Margaret Farnworth has noted that the individual’s report does not reflect the policy of the government and has added that Great Britain is for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh problem.