Two issues related to Armenia were discussed at the recent session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). They include a report on the course and results of the snap parliamentary elections June 20, as well as a report on the humanitarian consequences of the 44-day war launched by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) in 2020. Ruben Rubinyan, the head of the Armenian delegation to the PACE and an MP of the majority "Civil Contract" Faction, stated about this during Tuesday’s press conference in the National Assembly of Armenia.

"The elections in Armenia were positively assessed (…) by the PACE observers," Rubinyan noted, in particular.

Speaking about the report on the humanitarian situation in Karabakh, the head of the delegation noted that all the points of interest to the Armenian side were fully taken into account in that report.

"The report was being prepared for months. In fact, it was reflecting all the issues we wanted to document in writing. In particular, it says that the [aforesaid] war is a violation of the commitments assumed by the conflicting parties, and the PACE should study this issue. The transfer of Syrian mercenaries to Karabakh with the assistance of Turkey, as well as their direct participation in the war is also recorded. In addition, Azerbaijan is clearly called upon. They demand that Baku return [all] the Armenian prisoners of war immediately," Rubinyan added.

He noted that the report speaks also about the dangers threatening the Armenian cultural heritage, and condemns the existence of a false "Albanian" notion in Azerbaijan.

And Ruben Rubinyan gave a negative answer when asked whether the members of the Armenian delegation to the PACE had communicated with the Turkish or Azerbaijani delegation members outside the session.