President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Joao Barroso Soares has a special liking for totalitarian policy and politicians, Larisa Alaverdyan, a member of the Armenian delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, said, commenting on  Soares’ claim in an interview with Azeri  mass media that the Armenian side is a major obstacle to a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“It was during Mr. Soares’ visit to Armenia that I told him he had a special liking for Stalin-type totalitarian policy and illegal decisions made by that dictator, with the inclusion of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan being one of them. Of course, Mr. Soares then denied he liked Stalin and his decisions, but his statement is evidence of the opposite,” Alaverdyan said. She added that it is the political situation of the moment, rather than the OSCE principles, that is the basis for Soares’ actions. Soares can be ranked among the political figures that can be called “pro-petrol” ones, Alaverdyan said.

In his interview with the BBC Azeri service, the outgoing President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly João Soares stated that Armenia is a major obstacle for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as the Armenian Diaspora is torpedoing the resolution. Moreover, he stressed, the Armenian President has not the reputation to convince the country’s political forces concerning the issue.