On November 20, the 10th jubilee sitting of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee on Cooperation between the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus was held, where the RA NA Vice President, the Co-Chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee Eduard Sharmazanov had welcoming remarks.
“Dear Boleslav Kazimir,
Dear participants of the 10th jubilee sitting of the Armenian-Belarusian Inter-Parliamentary Committee,
I am glad to welcome you in the National Assembly. I hope that during today’s sitting effective discussions will be held. Our bilateral parliamentary agenda is rather full: it includes the issues of the parliamentarians’ cooperation on the international platforms, as well as the problems concerning the expansion of the trade-economic ties. One of the most important items of the Armenian-Belarusian bilateral strategic relations is the parliamentary cooperation: in that sense our Committee has weighty role and serious works to do.
Dear colleagues,
During the last years the Armenian-Belarusian cooperation has got a new content, particularly, our parliamentarians actively cooperate in the frameworks of the CSTO PA, the IPA CIS and the OSCE PA. Nevertheless, let me stress that we have a lot to do, there are also shortcomings. We should take steps for more active, effective and coordinated work, and particularly, we should have distinct position in the issues sensitive for the two countries. Here, I would like to note that still in the year 2000 our states adopted a statement within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty, where it distinctly reads that the military-political cooperation between the CST member states should be of prior importance towards the third countries, which are not included in that military-political treaty, today already the CSTO. I believe that we all understood what I speak about.
I also note that in October 2016 the Presidents of our countries adopted a statement on the peaceful settlement of the NK problem within the framework of the CSTO Yerevan Forum. Touching upon the NK conflict, I would like to note that Armenia is for exclusively peaceful settlement of the problem within the framework of Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship format. We refuse the military solution of the problem for ensuring progress in the negotiations and condemn the bellicose rhetoric. To ensure progress in the settlement process of Vienna, Saint Petersburg and Geneva Agreements should be called into life as soon as possible. Artsakh declared its independence in accordance with the USSR laws and has the same right of declaring independent statehood, as Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and our duty is to protect that right.
Thanks for attention,” Mr Sharmazanov said.