ArmInfo.Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on External Relations Armen Ashotyan during the meeting with the Deputy Head of the NATO Liaison Office in the South Caucasus, Rosaria Pulizi, stressed the importance of NATO-Armenia cooperation, and in this context the role of parliamentary diplomacy.
According to the press service of the Armenian parliament, Ashotyan noted that the foreign policy commission is always ready for closer cooperation with the Bureau - to discuss agendas of cooperation, issues of regional and international cooperation. During the meeting, the parties noted the importance of developing constructive interaction on parliamentary platforms.
In connection with the partnership with NATO, Ashotyan noted that The development of ties with the alliance has been marked by qualitative growth interaction. In this context, the commission's chairman stressed that Armenia regards relations with NATO as an important part of its multi-layered security system. At the meeting, the sides touched upon the importance of applying collective efforts in the establishment of international peace and stability, and in this context Ashotyan noted that Armenia was and continues to be ready for the transition from the consumer of security to its supplier. In this context, he stressed the participation of Armenian servicemen in missions under the aegis of NATO, along with Kosovo and Afghanistan, also in Lebanon.
During the meeting, the parties touched upon the process of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Ashotyan highlighted the NATO assistance to the mediation efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co- chairs, and also stressed that in the adopted NATO political documents, the positions on the Karabakh conflict should fully reflect the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. In the context of the Karabakh conflict, he also touched upon the destructive policy of the NATO member - Turkey, noting that this country is trying to conduct its subjective and destabilizing policy even on the NATO platform, which is unacceptable.
The sides also discussed programs of cooperation with NATO in the sphere of education.
The signing of the Armenia-EU comprehensive and expanded partnership agreement was noted as successful from the point of view of pursuing a complementary foreign policy.
At the end of the meeting, the sides also discussed the possibilities of implementing new joint programs with NATO.