YEREVAN. – PACE Co-Rapporteur on Armenia Axel Fischer arrived in Armenia on Wednesday. He met with representatives of oppositional Armenian National Congress (ANC), ANC coordinator Levon Zurabyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am. ANC will release a statement on the meeting later, he said.

ANC coordinator had told Radio Liberty that they will raise the issue of current political situation. It can be resolved only through snap presidential and parliamentary elections, which will allow equal opportunities for all parties.

ANC believes that Armenia has a serious issue of freedom of speech, as all channels are under the unofficial control of the presidential administration.

Concerning the re-election of Garegin Azaryan as a chairman of Central Electoral Committee, Zurabyan said that it speaks once again that the authorities are not ready to hold free and transparent elections in Armenia. This issue will also be discussed during opposition-authorities dialogue. 

Axel Fischer will also meet the speaker of the parliament and other parliamentary groups. PACE co-rapporteurs will discuss the latest developments towards the improvement of the political environment and elections with Armenian authorities and opposition.

Co-rapporteurs will end their mission of data collecting on Thursday. They will evaluate the situation based on this visit and meeting results and in October will present a report in PACE on Armenia’s democratic institutions.