YEREVAN. – National Assembly (NA) of Armenia Vice President Eduard Sharmazanov, who also heads the NA delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO PA), is paying a working visit to Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Sharmazanov on Wednesday met with chairman Vyacheslav Volodin of the Russian State Duma, the NA informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The parties underscored the allied nature of Armenian-Russian relations.

Reflecting on bilateral parliamentary ties, the NA deputy speaker pointed to the need for the two parliamentary delegations’ coordinated work within international platforms.

And at the ensuing talk, the interlocutors also reflected on regional matters.

“We [i.e. the Armenian side] highlight the maintaining of peace and stability in our region,” Sharmazanov noted, in particular. “Despite the agreements reached in Vienna and Saint Petersburg, Azerbaijan disregards them, [and] continues to aggravate the situation in the [Karabakh-Azerbaijan] contact line, with its destructive and anti-Armenian actions; this is impermissible.

“Everyone must come to realize that there is no alternative to a pacific settlement of the [Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh)] conflict, and nothing can force the people of Artsakh to hold back from the aspiration to live in an independent and free homeland.”