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On February 16 RA National Assembly Vice President Eduard Sharmazanov received a group of foreign journalists, who arrived in Armenia. Welcoming their visit to the Parliament, the NA Vice President noted that the journalists had arrived in Yerevan in a period important for Armenia, on the eve of the presidential elections of the country. “In Armenia all the opportunities are available in order to hold the most democratic elections of the newest history of the Republic,” noted Eduard Sharmazanov, underlining that compared with the previous elections the political pluralism and the freedom of speech are fully ensured. To his assessment, today the society is deprived of political nihilism, normal political fighting, competition among political teams, ideas are underway, the manifestations of PR lack. The international observers also evaluate this, at the same time, recording that law enforcement bodies rapidly respond to every alarm. “We hope that the February 18 elections will be open and the most democratic, as all conditions are created for that. We are going not through political conflict, but also through political dialogue,” the NA Vice President said.

Presenting Armenia’s economic situation and prior directions at the journalists’ request, Eduard Sharmazanov noted as the biggest obstacle for the development of economy the blockade of Armenia by Azerbaijan and Turkey. In fact, the latter, blockading the neighbouring country, shows aspirations of becoming a member of the European Union.

Eduard Sharmazanov also presented the background of the Armenian-Turkish protocols, underscoring that despite the preliminary agreements and expectation of international community, after signing the documents Turkey began to talk in the language of preconditions, which is inadmissible. He remembered the assessments and words of the former U.S. Secretary of State: “Now the ball is in the field of Turkey.”

Touching upon Armenia-Iran relationship, Eduard Sharmazanov reminded those present that the Armenian side has repeatedly expressed his opinion in favour of the peaceful settlement of the Iranian problem. Armenia has close economic relations with Iran, joint programmes are carried out, numerous Armenians live in that country, and any military action is not admissible. He has noted that Armenia is for the settlement of the conflict through peaceful negotiations also in the case of Syria.

Presenting the process of the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the NA Vice President has noted that Armenia and the NKR defend the peaceful and negotiation way of the solution of the problem, unlike Azerbaijan, which out of the well-known three principles accepts only the one, all the time talking about military adventurism and language of fascism. At the Presidential level Azerbaijan announces: “the Armenians throughout the world is the main enemy of the Azerbaijani people.” “Such announcements remind us the Nazi German leaders’ appeals, which then resulted in world war and genocide,” Eduard Sharmazanov said, calling on the international community to adopt more practical and rough position against this revelation.

Referring to the main directions of the RA foreign policy, the NA Vice President has noted that Armenia seeks to pursue open foreign policy. He presented the RA relations with the strategic ally Russian Federation, the CIS and CSTO countries, neighbouring states, the European Union, the USA and other countries.

Eduard Sharmazanov also answered other questions concerning the foreign journalists.