ArmInfo.The situation when the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is headed by a person involved in a corruption scandal (PACE head Pedro Agramund ed.) Is unacceptable. The head of the Armenian delegation in this structure, the vice-speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Arpine Hovhannisyan, stated this in her speech at the PACE summer session.
According to her, it is necessary not only to speak about the current situation, but also to take active steps to correct it, since the Assembly is the cradle of democracy. "We create the face of this Assembly, and as its face, we must decide who exactly will represent the structure, who can act on its behalf, therefore, we must demonstrate an appropriate attitude towards these people. Concluding my speech, I urge you to take effective measures, all of us are collectively responsible for this Assembly, "Hovhannisyan said.
To recall, several months already the name of the PACE head Pedro Agrmanud has been exaggerated in the corruption scandal connected with the receipt of large bribes by him and a number of other officials, in particular, from the Azerbaijani authorities for lobbying subsequently the interests of this country on the PACE site.
During the spring session of the PACE, the issue of impeachment of Agramund was raised, but the real reason for this was not the corruption scandal itself, but his visit to Syria as part of the Russian delegation. European parliamentarians accused him of complicity with the presidents of Russia and Syria, Vladimir Putin and Bashar Assad. Despite the fact that Agramunt repented of the deed and asked for forgiveness, this did not soften the position of his colleagues. Nevertheless, Agramund did not go on about the demands of the PACE delegates and did not resign, and the PACE regulations do not provide for the removal of the chairman of the structure.