ArmInfo. After the 44-day war Armenia opted for a way out of the domestic political crisis through early parliamentary elections, Maria Karapetyan of the Civil Contract parliamentary faction stated at a meeting of Commissions of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly in Yerevan, on Tuesday.
The ruling political force is speaking of the rule of law in its domestic policy and of establishment of peace in its foreign policy.
"And Armenia's authorities consider restoration and re-operation of communications a key issue that needs to be settled. It concerns not only roads, but also security. We believe interdependence will help us resolve problems in a more effective way. We believe the Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces must leave the border following the reciprocal withdrawal principle. It will enable the border demarcation and delimitation process to be launched," she said. However, she did not mention the fact that Azerbaijani troops are in Armenia's sovereign territory and further withdrawal of troops would violate the Armenian populations's fundamental rights.
Speaking of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Ms Karapetyan stressed it remains unsettled, and Armenia is willing to involve international forces in reaching a long-lasting settlement of the conflict. "Humanitarian issues remain on the agenda. Among them is the handover of Armenian POWs and civilians. We are calling for repatriation of all the POWs and we are hopeful that the issue will be settled in the short term. Moreover, international organizations must be provided with access to the historical, cultural and religious monuments in the conflict zone," she said.
Speaking of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, Ms Karapetyan pointed out that the process must not be linked to the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. Armenia is for reopening the Armenian-Turkish border.
In his turn, Artur Ghazinyan of the Armenia opposition faction focused on Azerbaijan's aggression against Artsakh. According to him, over three decades Armenians have been sacrificing their lives to defend their inalienable right to self-determination. "Nagorno-Karabakh has always been and will remain Armenian. And each Armenian's sacred duty is to defend this truth," he said.
Artur Khachatryan of the same faction reminded the participants that the 2020 terrorist attack on Armenia undermined regional security. Despite the numerous appeals by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and UN Secretary General, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale aggression during the pandemic, which caused suffering to civilians - women, children and old people.
Speaking of the unblocking of regional communications, Mr Khachatryan drew the participants' attention to the fact that Azerbaijan blocked the communication between Armenia and Artsakh.
"The most cynical was Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's statement that the Karabakh conflict is settled. It is not so, and we must now continue defending peoples' right to decide their fate," he said. Hayk Mamijanyan, Secretary of the With Honor opposition parliamentary faction, welcomed a creative approach.
"Azerbaijan has its own creative approach - ignoring the existing problems. According to Azerbaijan, there is no conflict in Karabakh. They believe there are no POWs, no banned weapons or ammunition were used during the 44-day war, there was no destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage nor is it taking place now, there were no nor are there any terrorists in our region. Moreover, they claim their armed forces are not in Armenia's sovereign territory. Of course, it is a most interesting approach to the problem - just ignoring it," he said, recalling the Madrid principles.
However, ignoring problems does not mean avoiding them. Mr Mamijanyan stated the Nagorno-Karabakh people is determined to defend its legal right. "The future is inevitable. Also, on behalf of Armenia's ex- president, who is being persecuted by the dictatorial Azerbaijani regime, I would like to state that Artsakh will never be part of Azerbaijan," he said.
The Azerbaijani MP Soltan Mammadov said that the Azerbaijani delegation members are proud to participate in an event in Armenia's capital. He highlighted the Eastern Partnerhsip's role in establishing long-lasting peace in the South Caucasus and in organizing Armenian-Azerbaijani discussions on the subject.
In response to the problems raised by the Armenian side, he gave assurances that Azerbaijan's position is in conformity with all the international norms and humanitarian law. According to him, settling the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict by force was in full conformity with international law and "within the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan."
"I am glad to say again that the conflict is over, and we are bringing a new geopolitical reality into the region. All international organizations highlight the importance of involving the region in cooperation. Europe is supporting this regional cooperation as well. We are satisfied with our attempts to bring peace to the region using all international platforms," he said. However, he did not mention regular provocations by the Azerbaijani troops both in Armenia's sovereign territory and in Nagorno-Karabakh, which are terrorizing Armenian civilians.
According to Mr Mammadov, the Azerbaijani MPs visit to Armenia is a sign of thawing bilateral relations. He gave assurances that Azerbaijan handed over all the POWs to Armenia immediately after the war, and the others were allegedly detained after the hostilities. However, facts prove that a number of people were captured during the hostilities.
Mr Mammadov also spoke of the people that went missing during the first Karabakh war and accused Armenia of being unwilling to provide information on them. However, he did not mention the Armenians that went missing during the first war, and nothing is yet known about them. He also spoke of Azerbaijan's "multicultural society", which is an internationally recognized fact. Head of the Azerbaijani delegation Tahir Mirkisili stated that Azerbaijan does not want "any attempted revenge." In this context he stated that Armenia is allegedly a threat to regional security, without mentioning the fact that the Azerbaijani authorities go on issuing threats and making territorial claims to Armenia.
"The conflict is in the past. Let us speak of what we want to have in the future. A peace treaty would be a great chance for our peoples and for regional development," he said. Mr Mirkisili highlighted the South Caucasus' strategic location, at the crossroads, and the peoples of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia are well aware of the best use of resources. In the context of the 3+3 format, he said that the first meeting took place in Moscow, Russia.
"Among the participants in the format are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, Russia and Iran. It is an important format for ensuring a stable peace and economic progress. If we think of global security, we must first of all ensure security in our countries. Secondly, we must form good ties between the regional countries, which requires the neighboring countries' respect for each other's territorial integrity. We must respect each other. Thirdly, the South Caucasus states made different geopolitical choices. For example, Armenia is a member of one bloc, Azerbaijan is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, Georgia is not a member of any military bloc, and they have their choice in the future. Each of the countries is exerting different efforts in geopolitical terms. If we want peace in the South Caucasus, we should think of how we can combine this all in the future," Mr Mirkisili said.
In response to the Azerbaijani MPs, the Armenian MP Arman Yegoyan said that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot be resolved by merely making claims about it is being settled. He is sure many of the problems are even graver now.
"Regrettably, the hatred against Armenians, Armenian culture and everything Armenian is becoming more and more intense in Azerbaijan. The situation is getting worse and worse. A striking example is the formation of a committee with a task to erase the Armenian traces and cultural monuments. They are most likely to share the fate of the Armenian tombstones in Nakhichevan. They were just destroyed in 2003- 2004," Mr Yegoyan said.
In response to the Azerbaijani MPs claims about Azerbaijan's "multicultural society", the Armenian MP asked them about the 500,000 Armenians that once lived in Azerbaijan.
"Are you trying to convince both yourselves and us of that? Peace can be established, but it is very fragile. The conflict can only be settled with mutual respect for each other's rights," he said and drew the participants' attention to the violation of Armenians' rights in Azerbaijan. Co-President of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Maka Botchorishvili noted that peace and stability is a key to settling regional problems.
"Georgia is determined to continue its efforts to establish a stable peace in our region. It is a basic precondition for progress. The 3+3 format has been mentioned here. But I would like to briefly explain Georgia's position on the initiative. Tbilisi is not participating in the negotiations, and the format could perhaps be correctly called 3+2," she said. According to her, Russia is using this format to restrict the West's involvement in the regional settlement processes, which is in conflict with Georgia's position.