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On June 9, the RA NA President Alen Simonyan being in Strasbourg on a working visit met with the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Despina Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis.

He highly appreciated the key role of the Council of Europe and PACE and the effective continuity of the activities as a pillar of democratic security, a guarantor of human rights and rule of law, a platform of real versatility and effective dialogue.

The sides discussed the role of PACE in strengthening democracy in Armenia, particularly issues regarding the work of the Co-rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee.

The RA NA President documented that after the 44-day war there are numerous unsolved problems, and the most urgent one is the immediate repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and other held persons.

He noted that this attempt of resolving the conflict of Nagorno Karabakh by force contradicts the commitment of Azerbaijan’s membership to the CoE on regulating the Nagorno Karabakh conflict exclusively in a peaceful way.

In the RA NA President’s opinion, PACE should pursue its resolution (Humanitarian consequences of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan/Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, September 27, 2021) on humanitarian consequences of Nagorno Karabakh conflict which related to the problems of Armenian prisoners of war, the humanitarian access in Artsakh, the preservation of Armenian spiritual historical-cultural heritage, the measures aimed at the stability of the situation on the borders and numerous other urgent issues.

He once again documented the commitment of Armenia to the establishment of peace and making real efforts in that direction, which cannot be said about the Azerbaijani authorities, which until now pursue anti-Armenian and bellicose policy against the Republic of Armenia.