ADDRESS BY FOREIGN MINISTER EDWARD NALBANDIAN AT THE EURONEST PA COMMITTEE ON POLITICIAL AFFAIRS, HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY
17:17, March 16, 2015
Dear Members of Parliaments,
I thank you for this opportunity to address the Committee on Political
Affairs, Human Rights and Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly
of Euronest.
Armenia highly appreciates comprehensive and multilayer cooperation
with the European Union in such areas as democracy, the rule of law,
protection of fundamental freedoms, joint programs on sustainable
development and good governess, etc. Great importance is attached to
the parliamentary dimension of this cooperation.
Dear Members of Parliaments,
As outlined in the Joint declaration adopted between Armenia and EU
in the framework of the Vilnius summit, the sides agreed on the need
to establish a new legal basis for their relations. Armenia intends
to develop the cooperation with European Union aimed at promotion of
human rights, consolidation of democracy, improvement of judicial
system, fight against corruption, strengthening of civil society,
advancement of the environment conducive for trade and investments,
enhancement of mobility and development of sectoral cooperation.
At the moment we have approached the final stage of our discussions
with our partners on the future legal basis of our cooperation, based
on the progress achieved in the previous period. Armenia stands ready
to continue comprehensive cooperation with the European Union in all
formats, in all possible areas and directions taking into account
our obligations in other integration processes.
Promotion of mobility is one of the priorities of our cooperation.
Facilitation of people to people contacts with the EU Member States
will create better grounds for deepening of the partnership. As you may
know the EU-Armenia Agreements on Visa Facilitation and Readmission
are in force since January, 2014. EU citizens are exempted from the
entry visa requirement to Armenia since January 2013. We anticipate
that in the near future new round of negotiations can be launched
aimed at liberalization of the visa regime.
We attach importance to further enhancement of our sectoral
cooperation with the European Union. For this purpose a protocol on
general principals of participation of Armenia in the EU programs
was concluded and came into force since March, 2014. It provides an
opportunity to participate in the EU programs on education, healthcare,
culture and other spheres.
In parallel to the parliamentary and inter-governmental dimensions
we greatly value the role of civil society in the implementation of
our agenda with the European Union. The large participation of the
representatives of civil society at this Session of the Assembly in
Yerevan speaks for itself.
Ladies and gentleman,
Today the attention of the international community is focused on
searching the ways of settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. Armenia and
Ukraine are tied not only by the centuries-old friendship between our
two peoples, but also by the existence of a multi-thousand Armenian
community in Ukraine. Armenia has welcomed the results of the Minsk
summit, the adoption of the joint resolution by the Presidents of
Ukraine, Russia, France and the Chancellor of Germany, as well as the
document signed by the Contact group on the implementation of the Minsk
agreements. We hope that the implementation of the achieved agreements
will pave a way for the comprehensive solution of the crisis.
Ladies and gentleman,
The peaceful resolution of conflicts has a primary importance
for building good-neighborly relations and ensuring sustainable
development. At the same time, it must be taken into consideration
that every conflict has its own peculiarities and it is not possible
to apply one general resolution on their settlement. The efforts to
conflict resolution must be carried out within the agreed formats
and any actions that may harm the negotiation process shoud be avoided.
The internationally-mandated framework of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict resolution is the Co-Chairmanship of the Minsk Group and it
is important to support its efforts aimed at the peaceful settlement.
Statements contradicting the formulations used by the Co-Chairs of
Minsk Group can be interpreted as one-sided and can harm the peace
process.
With regard to the current stage of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
it should be noted that Baku continues to oppose the Minsk Group
Co-Chairs and does its utmost to undermine the peace talks. It rejects
the proposals of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs not only on the basic
principles of the conflict resolution, but also on the implementation
of confidence-building measures. These proposals are the product of
the tireless efforts of the last six years – about twenty summits,
several dozen ministerial-level meetings, innumerable visits by the
three Co-Chairs to the region.
Baku significantly escalated the situation by drastically increasing
the ceasefire violations and targeting civilian objects, including
with the use of heavy weaponry. It has claimed unprecedented high
number of casualties among all parties to the conflict.
In this situation of ongoing escalation as a result of Azerbaijan’s
destructive stance the Co-Chairs expressed serious concerns to Baku
on incursions across the Line of Contact and the Armenia-Azerbaijan
border. They directly urged “Azerbaijan to observe its commitments to
a peaceful resolution of the conflict”. The Co-Chairs were obliged
to remind about their mandates and express concerns about critical
voices coming from Baku on the ongoing negotiation process, the role
of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, and the duties of OSCE monitors. It
is important that the Co-Chairs have clearly identified the side
responsible for the violence. However, nothing restrains Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani provocations are also matched with consistent warmongering
rhetoric and anti-Armenian hate speech. Azerbaijan has increased its
military budget 30 times within the last 10 years and constantly
threatens to solve the conflict by military force. Those civil
activists, intellectuals and journalists who have been advocating
for peace and reconciliation, are prosecuted as “Armenian spies”
and end up behind bars.
Armenia, unlike Azerbaijan, has always been for the continuation
of negotiations based on the proposals of the Co-Chair countries,
aimed at exclusively peaceful resolution of the conflict.
Dear Members of Parliaments,
As it is known, this year marks the centennial anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide. The recognition and condemnation of the past
genocides is one of the main factors of their prevention in the
future. That is why states should never compromise this noble cause
for any geopolitical calculations.
As early as in 1987 the European Parliament has recognized the Armenian
Genocide, and has reaffirmed its position in 2000, 2002 and 2005
rendering a significantly contribution to this end. We also highly
appreciate that the European Parliament in its various resolutions
has called on Turkey to open the border with neighboring Armenia and
establish regular diplomatic relations.
On March 3, the European People’s Party has passed a resolution
which calls on Turkey to recognize and condemn the Armenian Genocide
committed by the Ottoman Empire. It appeals to the international
organizations, the European Union and the Council of Europe Member
States, to restore the historical justice and pay tribute to the
victims.
Four days ago, on March 12, the European Parliament adopted the
“Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the world 2013”,
where it calls on all Member States, ahead of the 100th anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide, to acknowledge it, and encourages the EU
institutions to contribute further to its recognition.
I would like to take this opportunity to express once again gratitude
to all those who contributed to the adoption of this formulations.
Only through our joint endeavors it is possible to have a meaningful
contribution to the efforts on prevention of genocides and crimes
against humanity.
Distinguished Delegates,
Parliaments have an important mission in establishing connections
between societies and promoting inter-state relations. We hope that
the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly’s Yerevan Session will make a
meaningful contribution to this end.
Let me wish you fruitful discussions in Yerevan.
Thank you.