Thursday, 12 May 2016
PM Receives PACE Monitoring Committee Co-Rapporteurs
Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan received co-rapporteurs of the PACE Monitoring Committee on Armenia Alan Meale and Giuseppe Galati. Welcoming the co-rapporteurs, the Premier noted the importance of cooperation with the PACE Monitoring Committee and thanked them for the technical assistance provided to our country.
Hovik Abrahamyan gave details of the new electoral code discussions, noting that the draft code features numerous proposals of opposition and civil society representatives. According to the Prime Minister, every effort has been made to ensure a broad consensus and a common position on the new electoral code.
Referring to the fight against corruption, Hovik Abrahamyan advised that a Prime Minister-headed anti-corruption council is established, which has already approved the strategy and an action plan for the fight against corruption. He stressed that there is a political will to take concrete steps to combat corruption.
Regarding the four-day war of early April, the Prime Minister noted that Azerbaijani’s large-scale aggression against the peaceful population of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, including the elderly and children, which was marked by blatant violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, should be widely discussed and condemned by the international community. As Hovik Abrahamyan pointed out, Armenia’s position on this issue is quite clear: the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved within the OSCE Minsk Group exclusively through peaceful negotiations.
Thankful for the reception, the co-rapporteurs expressed support to their Armenian partners with the ongoing effort to promote democracy in the country. In this context, they stressed the importance of taking continued steps toward the adoption of the new electoral code.
Alan Meale and Giuseppe Galati expressed condolences over the loss of lives during the four-day war, noting that they were supportive of the efforts made by the OSCE Minsk Group toward the peaceful settlement of the conflict. They stressed that during the meetings held with political forces in Armenia, they were able to witness a spirit of unity and consolidation as regards the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.
The co-rapporteurs stressed that the fact of killing and beheading of a soldier of the NKR Defense Army was going to be reported to the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe. The parties took the opportunity to discuss other issues of mutual interest.
