South Caucasus MPs condemn forces preventing Azeri-Armenian cooperation

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
7 Jul 04

[Presenter] South Caucasus parliamentarians have condemned all the
facts that prevent cooperation between the peoples of three countries
[Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia]. This applies mainly to Azerbaijani
nationalists who staged a protest rally against the Armenian
servicemen attending a NATO planning conference in Baku. The Armenian,
Azerbaijani and Georgian parliamentarians discussed this at a session
of the South Caucasus Parliamentary Initiative which was held in the
Bulgarian capital.

[Correspondent] Armenia took over the presidency of the South Caucasus
Parliamentary Initiative on 1 July and will assume responsibility for
the implementation of programmes within the framework of the
initiative under a six-month rotational system. As a presiding side,
our delegation has drawn up a six-month programme on cooperation. The
presiding side has suggested holding an interparliamentary session on
integration into Europe for parliamentarians of the South Caucasus,
western and central European countries in autumn. Tigran Torosyan
[Deputy Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly] described as
productive the second session held in Sofia and also expressed his
satisfaction with cooperation with the Azerbaijani delegation.

[Tigran Torosyan] There was sufficient agreement on issues that were
discussed with the Azerbaijani delegation.

[Correspondent] The final document of the session, as a general
requirement of the three countries, according to Tigran Torosyan,
pertains the shameful reception of the Armenian servicemen in Baku.

[Tigran Torosyan] It is said that the members of the South Caucasus
Parliamentary Initiative condemn the acts of the groups which create
obstacles to cooperation between the peoples of the three
countries. This is mainly about the events in Baku, which were
organized against our servicemen.

The delegations of the three countries regretted that some activists
creating such obstacles are getting in the way of cooperation.

[Correspondent] The parliamentarians’ next meeting will be held in
autumn to discuss the venue and timing of the third session of the
South Caucasus Parliamentary Initiative.

Nune Aleksanyan, “Aylur”.