Parliament speaker: Azerbaijan distorts conflict’s essence

The Speaker of Armenia’s National Assembly Hovik Abrahamian is on an official visit to Brussels. The NA press service reports that on January 9 Hovik Abrahamian met with the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule.
The sides discussed the prospects of development of Armenia-EU relations, appreciated the high dynamics of the political dialog, expressing a willingness to keep and continue it.

On the same the Armenian parliament speaker met with the President of the Belgian Senate Ms. Sabine de Bethune and the President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives Andre Flahaut.

Speaking about the reforms in Armenia, H. Abrahamian stated that regardless the existing regional problems and challenges, Armenia has inflexibly chosen the democratic path of state building. He said the European integration policy is a pivot of not only domestic reforms, but also of the foreign policy agenda of Armenia.

Hovik Abrahamian discussed the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process, noting that the position of the Armenian side is based on three internationally-recognized principles: nonuse of force and threats of force, self-determination of nations, and territorial integrity. Azerbaijan continuously hinders the process, developing its policy based only on the principle of territorial integrity. In his words, in case of this approach, it is impossible to speak about any compromises.

The parliament speaker said that while distorting the essence and reasons of the conflict, Azerbaijan is also taking steps to involve other international organizations in the conflict settlement, trying to hinder the negotiating process, which is inadmissible.

Vice-President of the Belgian Senate Armand de Decker objectively assessed the steps of Armenia and the international community aimed at settling the Karabakh conflict and normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations. He expressed confidence that these problems must be solved in line with international standards and principles.