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The 10th jubilee sitting of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee on Cooperation between the National Assemblies of Armenia and Belarus was held on Monday, where the Vice Speaker of the Armenian parliament, the Co-Chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee Eduard Sharmazanov delivered welcoming remarks.

The full speech is as follows:

“Dear Boleslav Kazimir,

Dear participants of the 10th jubilee sitting of the Armenian-Belarusian Inter-Parliamentary Committee,

I am happy to welcome you in the National Assembly. I hope that during today’s sitting effective discussions will be held. Our bilateral parliamentary agenda is rather full: it includes the issues of the parliamentarians’ cooperation on the international platforms, as well as the problems concerning the expansion of the trade-economic ties. One of the most important items of the Armenian-Belarusian bilateral strategic relations is the parliamentary cooperation: in that sense our Committee has weighty role and serious works to do.

Dear colleagues,

During the last years the Armenian-Belarusian cooperation has got a new content, particularly, our parliamentarians actively cooperate in the frameworks of the CSTO PA, the IPA CIS and the OSCE PA. Nevertheless, let me stress that we have a lot to do, there are also shortcomings. We should take steps for more active, effective and coordinated work, and particularly, we should have distinct position in the issues sensitive for the two countries. Here, I would like to note that still in the year 2000 our states adopted a statement within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty, where it distinctly reads that the military-political cooperation between the CST member states should be of prior importance towards the third countries, which are not included in that military-political treaty, today already the CSTO. I believe that we all understood what I am talking about.

Let me also note that in October 2016, the presidents of our countries adopted a statement on the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue within the framework of the CSTO Yerevan Forum. Touching upon the NK conflict, I would like to note that Armenia is for exclusively peaceful settlement of the issue within the framework of Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship format. We refuse the military solution of the problem for ensuring progress in the negotiations and condemn the bellicose rhetoric. To ensure progress in the settlement process, the Vienna, St. Petersburg and Geneva agreements should be called into life as soon as possible. Artsakh declared its independence in accordance with the USSR laws and has the same right to statehood as Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and our duty is to protect that right.

Thank you for your attention,” Mr. Sharmazanov said.