The parliamentary opposition—the "Armenia" and "With Honor" Factions—again proposed, at Friday’s special meeting of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs, to set up a parliamentary standing committee on the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) issue.

According to this opposition’s respective view voiced by Aghvan Vardanyan, an MP of the "Armenia" Faction, the setting up of this committee will be a unique message for Armenia's neighbors, particularly for Azerbaijan. The lawmaker believes that the forming of this parliamentary committee will make Azerbaijan realize that the Karabakh issue continues to be a top priority for Armenia.

However, the Armenian parliamentary majority—the "Civil Contract" Faction—had a different opinion. Accordingly, its MP Vigen Khachatryan recalled that the NAs of Armenia and Artsakh fully cooperate within the framework of the interdepartmental committee that has been set up for that purpose, whereas the setting up of this parliamentary standing committee on Artsakh, according to Khachatryan and a number of other MPs from the ruling majority, will reduce the importance of this interdepartmental committee and bilateral cooperation.

After rather long and heated discussions, the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs, represented by the ruling faction, gave a negative conclusion to this initiative proposed by the parliamentary opposition. Accordingly, four MPs supported this initiative, whereas seven others abstained.