Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, on Wednesday received Russian Ambassador Sergey Kopirkin.

Mirzoyan once again stressed the importance of allied relations between the two countries, and lauded Russia’s active engagement in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), both in terms of the cessation of hostilities and the overcoming of humanitarian issues.

The speaker of the NA stressed that the key issue on the agenda for the Armenian side in this context remains the return of the Armenian POWs and captives to their homeland, and expressed confidence that their Russian partners will continue their respective mediation efforts to fulfill the relevant provision of the tripartite statement signed on November 9 last year.

Also, Mirzoyan stressed that the aforesaid trilateral statement did not resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and the Armenian side is ready to resume talks, within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, on the status of Artsakh, and based on the right of peoples to self-determination.

In his remarks, Ambassador Kopirkin presented the activities of the Russian-established humanitarian center, as well as of the Russian peacekeepers that are deployed in the area. The Russian envoy also noted that it is necessary to continue the peace talks, within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, toward a complete settlement of this issue, including the clarification of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The interlocutors discussed also matters related to the avenues for the further intensification and deepening of cooperation between the parliaments of Armenia and Russia.