YEREVAN – At the initiative of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s (ARF) Bureau Youth Office, about two dozen delegates representing International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) member organizations arrived to Armenia today as a part of a three day visit that includes a trip to the Republic of Artsakh.

Prior to departing to Artsakh, the delegates had the opportunity to meet with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia, Shavarsh Kocharyan and ARF Bureau member and head of the party’s political affairs Giro Manoyan.

In addition, a joint press conference was held today that featured Gevork Ghukasyan, a representative of the ARF Nigol Aghpalian Student Association, Sarine Abrahamian, a representative of the ARF Youth Organization, the Armenian Youth Federation, Rosella Pera, an executive board member of the Italian Socialist Party, and Dimitar Mitev, the chairman of the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party.

“The International Union of Socialist Youth is the biggest political youth organization in the world, representing socialist and social democratic youth organizations,” said Gevork Ghukasyan at the press conference. “Today’s Yerevan visit has brought together delegations from Europe, U.S., the Middle East, and New Zealand. This gives an opportunity to make the future leaders aware of the Karabakh conflict and to create a more favorable political arena to discuss the issue,” stressed Ghukasyan.

In Artsakh, the European delegates will hold meetings with numerous political figures including the Human Rights Defender, as well as representatives of the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies, the Artsakh Foreign Ministry, and various Artsakh youth organizations. The agenda also features visits to historical monuments.

Mentioning that this is her first visit to Armenia, Pera attached great importance to the perception of the Karabakh conflict’s essence and sharing their knowledge with the European youth. She also expressed regret that many people are not aware of the Karabakh conflict and even the country’s existence.

Chairperson of the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party, Dimitar Mitev stated that this is his second visit to Armenia. While discussing the Artsakh conflict, he noted that after understanding all the facts, he realized that Artsakh is a free and independent state that has been populated by Armenians throughout its entire existence.

“Kosovo has been an independent state for already 17 years, whereas Karabakh, having a richer historical background, unfortunately remains unrecognized,” said Mitev during the press conference. “The country will be eventually recognized amid the pressure of the international community.”

Both Pera and Mitav were aware of the possibility of appearing in Azerbaijan’s blacklist when visiting Artsakh.

“We see who are the aggressors are and who are the victims of that aggression. We support our Armenian friends. It is not important for us to be blacklisted by an aggressive state like Azerbaijan. A more important thing is that the people of Artsakh continue to live a safe life,” Mitav added.

The Italian delegate Pera also assured the possibility of ending up in Azerbaijan’s blacklist does not frighten them.

27 delegates including representatives of socialist parties and NGOs from 17 different countries are in Armenia for the visit.