ARTUR BAGHDASARIAN: PARTICIPATION OF PARLIAMENT IN SETTLEMENT OF
GLOBAL PROBLEMS IS IMPERATIVE NEED OF TIME

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Participation of
the Parliament in settlement of global problems is the imperative need
of time. Artur Baghdasarian, the Chairman of the National Assembly
stated about this at the Parliament Chairmen’s Second World Conference
which took place in New York receintly.

The RA NA Chairman attached importance to parliaments’ role in the
contex of general democratization and spreading democracy for a number
of reasons: first, democracy is the shortest and the most effective
way for bearing challenges of the century: terrorism, war, violations
of the human rights, hunger and poverty. The Parliament, being a
representative body, is the closest state institution for the
people. To have an open Parliament means to be led by the principle of
transparency, to be upmost accessible and reachable for electors and
be ready for cooperation on the international arena. In this sense,
it’s necessary to develop interparliamentary cooperation as one of the
best ways of spreading democracy.

“We are ready for cooperation and are open for any democratic
initiative. It’s a pity, our Azeri partners use all possible stages
of international instances only to repreach and criticize Armenia,
instead of speaking about regional problems, development of democracy,
widening cooperation and possibilities and prospects of establishing
good relations with neighbors, Artur Baghdasarian stated.

The NA Chairman emphasized that “the Karabakh conflict was the
Karabakh people’s struggle for self-determination and right of liberty
which they managed to get by a war started just by the Azerbaijani
party.” He expressed confidence that the ten-year peace which the
international community supported actively, creates good opportunities
for reaching a just and continuous solution of the Karabakh issue.

Armenia always stands for the regional cooperation as a mean of
creating confidence. “In this contex, any destructive policy which is
aimed to isolate one of the countries of the region, is inacceptable
and will danger the stability of the region. He means the
Turkish-Azerbaijani efforts directed to building a new railway instead
of putting into action the Gyumri-Kars ready railway. Its aim is to
isolate Armenia. Such way of acting does not support the regional
cooperation. It’s the reason that we emphasize that present problems
should be solved by a constructive dialogue, but not by agressive
claims which has already said us nothing for a long time, which should
stay in the past as for us the cooperation for future is much more
important. This future supposes a peaceful Caucasus, a region
anchoring based on cooperation and dialogue, a region, which
expressing itself as a united and political area, should see its
future in the united European family,” Artur Baghdasarian stated.

Mentioning in this context the active dialogues promoted in in the
region by Armenia, the NA Chairman particularly mentioned creation of
the South Caucasian Parliamentary Assembly, expressing confidence that
it will greatly support solution of problems in the South Caucasus,
avoiding conflicts and having a democratic region.

The text of the RA NA Chairman’s speech was spread by the NA Public
Relations Department.