Opposition leader Ishkhan Saghatelyan, an MP from the Hayastan alliance, has dismissed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s claims that the international community is pressuring Armenia to lower the bar on the status of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).
At a press conference on Monday following his four-day visit to Strasbourg, Saghatelyan said he had held meetings with two vice-presidents of the European Parliament, its co-rapporteur on Armenia as well as the heads of the friendship groups with Armenia and Artsakh.
"I have met with various officials of the European Parliament and it seems that there is no international demand to lower the bar on Artsakh’s status claimed by the Armenian authorities,” he said.
“There is a demand to establish peace, but we thoroughly explained to them that it should not be achieved at the expense of the interests of Armenia and Artsakh and imposed peace in the region cannot bring stability," the MP said.
Saghatelyan stated that the interests of Armenia and Artsakh are not properly represented in international organizations, adding European officials have no sufficient information on the situation in the region.
Also, the opposition lawmaker said he raised the issue of Armenian prisoners of war being held in Azerbaijani at all his meetings in the European Parliament.