ArmInfo.Head of the Armenian state Serzh Sargsyan in his speech from the PACE tribune touched upon corruption scandals involving European officials and the ongoing  value crisis in the Council of Europe. "In recent years, Armenia has  witnessed an unprecedented value crisis in the Council of Europe,  when the style of the work of some irresponsible MPs, to put it  mildly, contrary to the main mission of the Council of Europe, has  seriously damaged the credibility of the organization," Serzh  Sargsyan said on January 24.

ArmInfo. "When in 2013 Armenia last presided over the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, this mission has become an important milestone in the field  of our integration into the family of the Council of Europe, and I  think we have honorably implemented it." Armenian President Serzh  Sargsyan stated this during the winter session of the Parliamentary  Assembly of the Council of Europe on January 24.

ArmInfo. Current global challenges make the economy more than vulnerable to external shocks, and regional development limits the potential for economic growth.

ArmInfo. Joining the Council of Europe, Armenia undertook to settle the Karabakh conflict exclusively by peaceful action. This was stated by the President of  Armenia Serzh Sargsyan from the rostrum of the Parliamentary Assembly  of the Council of Europe.

ArmInfo. Turkey is a powerful state, and we cannot compare Armenia's potential with the potential of the Turkish Republic. But this does not mean that Turkey has the right to speak with us in the language of preconditions. This was stated in his speech at the PACE winter session on January 24 by RA President Serzh Sargsyan.

ArmInfo. Armenia has undertaken to resolve the Karabakh conflict only peacefully, RA President Serzh Sargsyan said from the rostrum of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. According to him, Armenia will use its influence on Artsakh to promote a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Serzh Sargsyan also urged the PACE to prevent, as far as possible, biased statements from the rostrum of the structure to preserve fragile security in the conflict zone. "Artsakh continues to build a democratic state based on the protection of human rights, and Armenia renders full support to Stepanakert on this path. In Europe, there should be no gray areas when it comes to the protection of human rights," the Armenian leader said. Presenting the genesis of the Karabakh conflict, Sargsyan stressed that Baku at one time tried to expel Armenians from their historical places of residence. Further, he focused on the need to respect the ceasefire. "Settlement should be peaceful, and we need to overcome the shortage of justice," the president said, stressing that regardless of his further political plans he will always be at the forefront in the protection of Artsakh's right to self-determination. Sargsyan again noted that the OSCE Minsk Group is the only negotiated format at the international level. He also recalled the Azeri aggression in April 2016, which was characterized by violations of international humanitarian law, stressing that Baku is not ready for a compromise. "This was a strong blow to the talks, which awoke the terrible memories of Sumgait," the Armenian leader summed up.

ArmInfo. On January 23, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan arrived in Strasbourg to attend the January session of the PACE. The program of the President of the Republic of Armenia began with a meeting with the newly elected Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Michele Nicoletti. According to the press service of the president, Sargsyan left a record in the "Golden Book" of PACE that he is greatly honored in the Council of Europe, as this structure always stands for the protection of human rights. The President also noted that the 17th anniversary of Armenia's accession to PACE will soon take place. "Faced with problems in the region and beyond, the Council of Europe and PACE should speak the same language in the name of our unity and authority," wrote the head of the Armenian state. Then the President of Armenia met with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland. Prior to this, the president attended the signing ceremony of a number of CE conventions. The Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Edward Nalbandian signed the documents. These documents supplement about seven dozen international treaties signed by Armenia within the framework of the Council of Europe. President of Armenia and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland summed up the results of the meeting with statements to the media. In his statement, the head of the Armenian state in particular noted that he considers his visit to be symbolic, since on January 25, 17th anniversary of Armenia's accession to the Council of Europe is celebrated. And over the past 17 years, the country has achieved remarkable results in strengthening democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and the Council of Europe has a significant contribution to this process. Serzh Sargsyan noted that he had a conversation with Jagland and the parties came to the conclusion that in the last decade complex reforms were implemented in Armenia to ensure basic freedoms, more open and effective management and a dynamic civil society. Sargsyan also noted that Armenia is gradually moving to a parliamentary form of government, and in accordance with the new Constitution will continue comprehensive legislative reform in cooperation with the Venice Commission and the independent monitoring committees of the Council of Europe. Also during the meeting, issues related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were discussed. "I thank Jagland for supporting the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, which is of great importance for the facilitation of the negotiation process." I again supported the Secretary-General's view that Europe should not be "gray areas" in the field of human rights protection, which means that the Council Europe should equally respect the rights of citizens living in conflict zones, guided by the status of "neutrality", the Armenian President stated. The sides also agreed that the Council of Europe is the sphere of human rights protection, and the settlement of the conflict should be handled by structures that have an internationally agreed mandate for the settlement of this conflict. "We are convinced that dialogue is the key to solving the problems facing our organization, and in this dialogue the voice of all member states will be heard in order to ensure the integrity and unity of the Council of Europe," said Serzh Sargsyan. Serzh Sargsyan invited Thorbjorn Jagland to Armenia.

ArmInfo. The co-rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Armenia was replaced. At a meeting of the PACE monitoring commission, it was decided to appoint a deputy from Ukraine Yulia Levochkina as the new co-rapporteur on Armenia. The change of co-rapporteurs is due to the fact that Alan Mil, following the results of the elections in the UK, is no longer represented in the legislative body of this country. Another co-rapporteur on PACE monitoring in Armenia, Giuseppe Galati, will continue his powers.

ArmInfo. The deputy of the Armenian parliament from the "Elk" bloc Edmond Marukyan raised the issue of mass distribution of electoral bribes during the elections in Armenia from the rostrum of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The MP urged the PACE to more closely monitor the implementation of relevant laws in Armenia, which presuppose criminal responsibility for the distribution of bribes. The deputy noted that during the elections there was also an abuse of administrative resources, and this problem is one of the top priorities in Armenia. He stressed that members of the "Elk" faction during the elections to the local self-government bodies in Yerevan acquired the necessary evidence for the distribution of pre-election bribes, but law enforcement agencies have hushed the case.

ArmInfo. Armenia received a new Constitution with the assistance of the Council of Europe. This was stated by Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn  Jagland at the opening of the PACE winter session on January 22.

ArmInfo. The Comprehensive and Expanded Partnership Agreement will deepen Armenia-European Union cooperation in the fields of energy, transport, environment,  investment, and the expansion of societies. It is based on a common  basis of European values - a stable commitment to democracy, human  rights and the rule of law.

ArmInfo. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) at the winter session in Strasbourg on January 22 selected the new chairman of the organization. It is a member of the Italian delegation Michele Nicoletti.

ArmInfo. The recently adopted thesis of the Armenian authorities "nation-army-church" is nothing but a new embodiment of the practice of suppressing the will of citizens. Manvel Sargsyan, director of the Armenian Center for Strategic and National Studies, expressed his opinion to ArmInfo. "The Armenian, shameless by its nature, criminal-oligarchic regime is afraid only of the threat of its own physical elimination, but this does not prevent its participants from appealing to moral categories, appeals to conscience, moral teachings, morality, the desire to shame anyone who criticizes those in power, and the activities of Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan and her protection by the authorities' apologists are the most recent fact confirming this observation, "he stressed. In this light, the analyst noted the calls of the criminal-oligarchic regime to the conscience of society, to humility with their own actions in the direction of new extortions from citizens for "assistance to servicemen." Sargsyan highlighted the desire of those who are calling, first of all, to shame the citizens who point to the facts of corruption and embezzlement in the army. "At first glance, the nation's wealth and state administration that have usurped the public's wealth and state administration should be most afraid of translating their dialogue with society into a moral plane." However, paradoxically, moral and moral categories have become a favorite category in the mouth of power, in other words, demagogy based on morality and morality in the hands of power has become an apology for usurping the rights of other citizens, "he stressed. According to analyst estimates, the hatred of any usurper against those from whom he usurped wealth and rights is born out of fear for possible retaliation, generating violence in order to usurp the latter's society - free will. Similar violence without purposeful. Sargsyan notes that the most popular method of the authorities for disorienting public consciousness in Armenia is accompanied by blackmail and imminent losses in the future, instilling feelings of guilt for destabilizing and undermining the country's defense capability. "Nevertheless, we all see how the demagoguery of plutocratic power is losing its effectiveness day by day." And the fact that in the work of its salvation this power, as the last resource of its moral demagogy, began to use the fate of the servicemen who suffered in the war, once again shows the boundlessness of its dishonesty "- summed up Sarkisyan.

ArmInfo. On January 22-24, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan will pay a working visit to France - Paris and Strasbourg.

ArmInfo. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic responded to the joint letter of the ambassadors of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia in this country to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Martin Stropnitski about the situation around the monument to Marshal of the Soviet Union IS Konev in Prague. Stropnitsky in his response open letter, published on the website of the Czech Foreign Ministry, described it as "an inappropriate gesture." "In your joint letter of December 22, 2017, you express deep concern about the decision of Prague-6 to establish biographical tablets on the monument to Marshal Konev.You consider this step as an attempt to belittle the importance of the monument, rewrite history and disgrace the fallen in the fight against Nazism You also argue that the issue of the monument is used for political purposes and can not be left to the discretion of the local authorities.I think this is a misunderstanding, and the letter you published is an inappropriate step, "the reply letter of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. At the same time, Stropnitsky stressed that the municipal authorities in the Czech Republic are a legally separate body elected by citizens with their own property and budget and is one of the pillars of democracy in the country. He stressed that, based on the foregoing, the country's foreign ministry can not interfere with the decision of the Prague self-government body, since the monument to Konev belongs to the city municipality. The Minister also stressed that the Czech Republic respects all fighters against the Nazi regime, as well as the victims of the latter, including the soldiers of the Red Army of all nationalities. He also recalled that the monument to Konev is not a military grave and, therefore, is not subject to the Agreement between the Government of the Czech Republic and the Government of the Russian Federation on mutual care of military townspeople and their democratically elected representatives to decide on their own how the monument and its pedestal will look> , the statement says.

ArmInfo.The Armenian authorities do not want to detail the government's decision to  prohibit male citizens from 18 to 27 years of age from leaving the country without a military ticket.

ArmInfo. Armenia's vote in the UN on the issue of Jerusalem was based on the national interests of the country. This was stated at the press conference in Yerevan by  the vice speaker of the Armenian parliament, press secretary of the ruling Republican Party Eduard Sharmazanov.

ArmInfo. Recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Israel from the Middle East dynamics does not depend. A member of the Israeli Knesset of the 15th convocation,  President of ICES - International Expert Center of Electoral Systems  Alexander Tsinker, expressed such an opinion to ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo."I absolutely do not understand why our Government is constantly adopting the laws of the stagnated West, which badly affect the national values of Armenia,"  Gevorg Petrosyan, deputy from the Tsaroukyan bloc told journalists on December 13.