YEREVAN. - The Committee on Social Affairs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has registered subsequent shameful reality: a report on [Karabakh-located] Sarsang reservoir was prepared and adopted without visiting the place which is the subject of discussion. Naira Karapetyan, member of the Armenian Delegation to PACE and the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) MP told the aforementioned to Armenian News –NEWS.am correspondent (photos).

According to her, this is already becoming a dangerous precedent. “The Committee turned down all our proposals on canceling the discussion of the report, as well as on the rapporteur’s visit to Sarsang reservoir. The Committee even declined the arguments of the technical expert invited by PACE itself, according to whom the examination wasn’t complete and it would be better to present the technical conclusion on Sarsang reservoir by visiting it without basing the report on internet information (Google map), as the expert noted,” Naira Karapetyan said.

In 48 hours, the Armenian side will present a special opinion, which will substantiate why the report is imbalanced and one-sided, she said.

“The European MPs asked the technical expert questions on whether only the Azerbaijani residents are deprived of water or the Armenian side doesn’t use it either, [They also said that] if the issue is presented as a social and humanitarian one, it can’t [actually] be solved by nationalities. Of course, [in response] the expert stressed that it impacts the entire region,” Naira Karapetyan said.

According to the MP, 9 members of the Committee voted for canceling the discussion of the report, 16 people voted against it and 1 abstained.   

The report of PACE’s Bosnian MP Milica Marković on Karabakh-located Sarsang Reservoir was discussed in the subsequent session of PACE’s Committee on Social Affairs today.

The title of the aforementioned report – “The border regions of Azerbaijan are intentionally deprived of water”- is rather subjective.