“Stepan Demirchyan and I did not take part in the voting because the final resolution contained such wordings, which do not particularly overlap with the issue of Nagorno- Karabakh but connected with the Crimea, Abkhazia, Ossetia and the Russian-Ukrainian relations, which, in my opinion, would not create favorable atmosphere for the Karabakh issue. They can become a precedent,” – so explained Mikayel Melkumyan, a member of the Armenian delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in an interview with Aravot.am, referring to the stance of our delegation.
There are several pro-Armenians clauses in the document passed by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on July 5, in Tbilisi. This causes a concern over the escalation of the situation in Nagorno Karabakh, the OSCE PA deputies welcomed “the active involvement of the OSCE chairmanship for the approval of the mechanisms and formats of negotiations toward the political solution of the protracted conflicts in the OSCE area.” The document also calls on the parliamentarians to “motivate all the parties to demonstrate a political will to make serious efforts towards confidence-building measures to reduce the risk of hostilities in Karabakh conflict zone and to reach a comprehensive settlement agreement within the framework of the Minsk Group.”
The Armenian delegation voted “against” this document. Some analysts thank that this time too, Armenia leaving its own interest behind has followed the example of Russia. The Russian delegation voted “against” the declaration as it contains a harsh criticism against Russia and a call to refrain from the recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as from the process of Crimea’s annexation. Artashes Geghamyan (Head of the Armenian delegation, RPA faction MP), Stepan Demirchyan Declaration and Mikayel Melkumyan voted “against” the declaration. Mikayel Melkumyan says that during the debates in the Commissions on political, economic and human rights, they had presented proposals, which were passed, “For example, I had made four amendments and all four were passed. And it looks a bit dual situation, our amendments are passed, it is not so politicized but it could be a precedent for Nagorno-Karabakh, so we did not participate in the vote.”
Nelly GRIGORYAN
