ArmInfo.The head of the Armenia-Slovakia friendship group Eduard Sharmazanov met with the Chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, Andrei Danko, on May 25 in Bratislava.
As the press service of the Parliament reports, the vice-speaker thanked Danko for assisting in organizing in the Slovak parliament an exhibition under the motto "Parliamentarians against genocides" dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. He highly appreciated the contribution of Danko and the parliament to the process of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and condemning the atrocity by the National Council of Slovakia in 2004.
Turning to the development of inter-parliamentary cooperation, the sides singled out the activation of mutual trips, cooperation at the level of friendship groups, effective interaction on international platforms on issues of bilateral interest.
Sharmazanov presented the regional and domestic political situation in Armenia, noting: "In my deep conviction, democratic values should not have an alternative in Armenia - the country must steadily move forward through the development of democracy, respecting the pluralism of opinions."
Touching upon the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Vice Speaker of the Parliament confirmed the position of the Armenian side - to resolve the conflict exclusively by peaceful means, within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship. He positively assessed the balanced position of Slovakia in the settlement of the issue.
"Azerbaijan, distorting the essence of the conflict, tries to present the Nagorno-Karabakh problem as a territorial dispute, meanwhile it is a struggle for the realization of the right to self-determination, freedom and independence of the people." International recognition of the independence of Artsakh has no alternative," the NA Vice Speaker said.
Referring to the RA-EU comprehensive and expanded partnership agreement, Sharmazanov expressed the hope that the Slovak parliament will ratify the document in a short time.