YEREVAN. – Armenian National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov received Wednesday Walt Secord, member of the Legislative Council of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. During the meeting Sharmazanov thanked Secord for his keen interest in the Armenian Genocide and Karabakh issues.   

Eduard Sharmazanov expressed a hope that such meeting, which was held thanks to opposition ARF Dashnaktsutyun Party MPs, would continue and become a foundation for future development of interparliamentary relations.   

In his turn, Walt Secord informed that he is the deputy chair of the Armenia-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group, and that he had hear a lot about the history and culture of the genocide-surviving Armenian people, but he had decided to see everything with his own eyes.     

To note, Walt Secord is the first Australian MP to ever visit the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), where he met with NKR NA Speaker and felt the will and determination of Artsakh Armenians. 

Reflecting on the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the interlocutors noted that the best way to prevent genocides is to condemn them and that Karabakh’s right to live independently and free is irrevocable.

The Australian MP informed that immediately after the meeting he will pay a visit to capital Yerevan’s  Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial, to pay respects to the innocent victims of the Genocide, NA Press Service informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.