YEREVAN. - Despite the agreements reached in Vienna and Saint-Petersburg, Azerbaijan ignores them and continues escalating the situation on the line of contact between Karabakh-Azerbaijani opposing forces.

Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly (NA), Galust Sahakyan, said the aforementioned on Friday at the meeting with the delegation headed by Speaker of the Russian State Duma Federal Assembly (FA), Vyacheslav Volodin, who has arrived in Yerevan on an official visit.

Welcoming the guests, Sahakyan congratulated Vyacheslav Volodin on his appointment to the post of Speaker of the State Duma.

Referring to the Karabakh conflict, the Speaker noted that Armenia highlights the role of Russia as a Minsk Group co-chairing country in the process of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue settlement. Armenia has always been for the peaceful settlement of the conflict, but it faces Azerbaijan’s deconstructive conduct.

“Despite the agreements reached in Vienna and Saint-Petersburg, Azerbaijan ignores them and continues escalating the situation on the line of contact. The Armenian side underscores the need for the implementation of the events aimed at shaping a climate of mutual trust. We are convinced that there is no alternative to the peaceful settlement of the issue,” the NA Speaker said.

Sahakyan also stressed that the strategic cooperation of the two countries has reached a new level by joining the Eurasian Economic Union, which has created wide opportunities for the development of bilateral trade and economic relations.

Touching on the cooperation in the legislative field, he lauded the joint effective work of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee for Cooperation between the Armenia National Assembly and the Russian Federal Assembly, as well as the Parliamentary Standing Committees.

In the context, Sahakyan stressed the cooperation in the framework of the Parliamentary Assemblies, noting that the mutual support on the international platforms stems from the allied interests of the two countries.

Referring to the Armenian Genocide recognition, the head of the parliament expressed gratitude for the adoption by the State Duma of a resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide and recognizing April 24 as a Memorial Day of the Genocide victims as early as in 1995. “The recognition and condemnation of this crime committed at the beginning of the 20^th century is important in terms of preventing the gravest crimes against humanity. The message of the Armenian people, who survived the Genocide, to the whole mankind is ''Never again'', Galust Sahakyan noted.

Thanking his colleague for the warm reception, Vyacheslav Volodin, for his part, stated that the relations between the Russian and Armenian peoples have deep roots and formed traditions, which should be preserved and strengthen in the future. Referring to the strategic partnership and inter-parliamentary relations, the Speaker of State Duma attached importance to the need for coordinated work between the parliamentary delegations on international platforms.

Touching on the regional issues, he noted that Russia does its best for maintaining peace in the region. In this context Vyacheslav Volodin stated that they see the settlement of Karabakh conflict exclusively through peaceful means and within the framework of the Minsk Group format.

At the end, the interlocutors expressed hope that these meetings will give new quality and create prospects for the expansion of bilateral cooperation.

Afterwards Speaker Galust Sahakyan and his Russi an counterpart planted an evergreen fir tree symbolizing the Armenian-Russian friendship at the Alley of Memory in the Parliament Park.