During the plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) held in Strasbourg, the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu’s speech was accepted by the European delegates with a grin. Turkish Foreign Minister particularly touched upon the topic of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, stating that Russia proposes the option of the removal of Armenians from five regions.
Aravot.am asked the head of the Armenian delegation to PACE, Hermine Naghdalyan, about the posture of the Armenian delegation in this matter and whether they are not going to counter Çavuşoğlu’s allegations. Mrs. Naghdalyan said, “Later, during my speech, we definitely will controvert because the Q&A with him did not imply this format.” Mrs. Naghdalyan stated that Çavuşoğlu has mainly bypassed the delegates’ questions, “For example, such an impression was created in the hall that Çavuşoğlu is not aware of the Treaty of Lausanne.”
Mrs. Naghdalyan laughed and stated said Turkish Foreign Minister’s outpourings regarding their household debates were also interesting, which by his description, allegedly mirror the developments of the world political thought. According to Mrs. Naghdalyan, the Q&A with Çavuşoğlu is already shaping the attitude that we should also have on the part of his answer on the Karabakh issue. Hermine Naghdalyan added, “The main issue of the Minsk Group and the ongoing negotiations is the right of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to self-determination. Turkey was told that the best that it can do is to stay far away from the process of Karabakh conflict settlement.”
To our observation that, however, Çavuşoğlu used the PACE microphone to make his words heard, Mrs. Naghdalyan responded, “His speech lasted an hour, nevertheless, the listeners accepted his words in a grin.” During various debates at the PACE, it has been stated that Armenia is the PACE’s best partner and more, the constitutional referendum in Azerbaijan was observed in the contrast with the referendum in Armenia.
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To the reminder that the incident happened in the territory of the Police Patrol Regiment in Erebuni district in Yerevan was announced thru the microphone of the PACE, and to the question of whether it does not overshadow the positive developments registered in Armenia, Mrs. Naghdalyan replied, “This question was raised not by a European delegate or the head of a structure, but by the member of the Azerbaijani delegation as an excuse. No one was listening attentively, nor the topic was continued.”
Naira Karapetyan, a member of the Armenian delegation to PACE, said about Çavuşoğlu’s speech, “Turkey’s foreign minister was unfair to the PACE not only on the part referring to Armenia but also in whole his speech and the answers to the questions. He was openly lying by distorting many facts, which was causing the grin of those who were present there. The only truth during the Q&A with Samad Seyidov was the mutual confession of warm and faithful love. Let us not forget about his and his wife’s relations allegedly a cornerstone of state-building of Turkey. And more specifically, the Turkish foreign minister exceeds his rights and always is trying to attribute a right to him regarding the Artsakh issue, which is not prescribed to him by any international document.”
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
