YEREVAN. – Within the framework of the session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA), the Swedish delegation confirmed that the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020 could not be considered a full-fledged solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh [(Artsakh)] conflict, and that a comprehensive solution could be reached only within the framework of discussions within the OSCE Minsk Group format. Hripsime Grigoryan, member of Armenia’s delegation to the OSCE PA and an MP of the ruling My Step bloc, said this at Tuesday’s press briefing in the National Assembly.

Hayk Konjoryan, the head of the Armenian delegation to the OSCE PA and a lawmaker from My Step, added that the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde, also confirmed that we are far from resolving the Karabakh issue. "The key issues for us were the matters of the aggression of Azerbaijan and the return of Armenian captives. A member of the Armenian delegation raised the issue of [Azerbaijan’s] unjustified delay in the return of [Armenian] prisoners of war, presented the facts of cruel treatment of them by the Azerbaijani authorities, the [Azerbaijani] military aggression in the [Artsakh] villages of Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd after the signing of a trilateral statement. Issues related to the involvement of mercenaries in the conflict, as well as the status of Karabakh were also raised. The importance of the right of the people of Karabakh to free expression of will, the need for international pressure on Turkey and Azerbaijan were noted," Konjoryan stressed, assuring that the Armenian delegation was one of the most active during the aforesaid session of the OSCE PA.

Ani Samsonyan, another member of the Armenian delegation to the OSCE PA and an MP of the opposition Bright Armenia faction, noted that the delegations from Sweden and Belgium spoke about the need to return the Armenian prisoners of war and Azerbaijan's war crimes. "I noted that Azerbaijan has not complied with the tripartite statement’s requirement in connection with the return of prisoners. Baku should have returned them, even if the statement had not said anything about it. In addition, I presented the fact that the Azerbaijani military took captives of war even after the [recent Artsakh] war, presenting them as ‘criminals.’ I also reminded that Baku has not yet provided information on the number of detained Armenian captives," she concluded.