Head of the opposition “With Honor” faction of the National Assembly of Armenia Artur Vanetsyan and the faction’s secretary Hayk Mamijanyan today met with co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of obligations and commitments by Armenia Kimmo Kiljunen and Boriana Aberg, as reported the Public Relations and Communication Department of the National Assembly.

Artur Vanetsyan spoke about the 44-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan. The head of the faction called attention to the fact that Turkey also took part in the war. Artur Vanetsyan considered urgent the issue of the immediate return of the Armenian captives being held in Azerbaijan, which was recorded in the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020. In this context, the support of all international colleagues to force Azerbaijan to return the captives, was highlighted.

Touching upon security issues, the parliamentarians expressed concern about the aspirations and use of force by Azerbaijan against the sovereign territories of Armenia and the anti-Armenian propaganda, which do not promote the establishment of peace in the region.

The MPs expressed their positions on the ongoing processes in domestic politics following the snap parliamentary elections. It was noted that two opposition deputies are in prison, and criminal cases are launched against a considerable number of deputies from the two opposition factions of the National Assembly. According to Artur Vanetsyan, the authorities are trying to silence the political adversaries with criminal cases, as well as restrict those deputies’ freedom of movement.

At the guests’ request, Artur Vanetsyan and Hayk Mamijanyan touched upon the issues regarding the electoral reforms in Armenia, the judiciary, the independence of the mass media and the troubling restrictions on freedom of speech.