Estonia’s Parliament Speaker Jüri Ratas

A visit by Estonia’s Parliament Speaker Jüri Ratas in May was deemed “extremely troubling” by his Armenian counterpart Alen Simpnyan, who on Friday conveyed Yerevan’s disappointment when meeting with Estonia’s Ambassador to Armenia Riina Kaljurand.

Ratas visited Azerbaijan and attended an event in Shushi on May 24 and was praised by that country’s president Ilham Aliyev when he met the Estonian lawmaker in Baku.

In discussing the cooperation with the Estonian legislature, Simonyan told Kaljurand, the ambassador, that Ratas’ visit to Shushi and his subsequent remarks were “extremely troubling.”

Simonyan told the visiting ambassador that Ratas’ statements in Shushi not only did not reflect the scope of friendly relations that exist between Armenia and Estonia, but also contradict Estonia’s official support for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict through the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

The Speaker told the Ambassador that he has sent a letter to Ratas on this occasion, where he explained the essence of the conflict and the consequences of the 2020 devastating war.

Simonyan expressed hope that his Estonian counterpart will visit Armenia in the future and will get acquainted with the situation, as well as will meet with officials from Artsakh.

The Estonian ambassador expressed hope that there will be an opportunity to discuss all these issues with Ratas in the future. She then presented an invitation to Simonyan on behalf of Ratas. In accepting the invitation, Armenia’s Parliament Speaker reiterated that Ratas should visit Armenia.