YEREVAN. – Chairman of the Republic of Armenia National Assembly (RA NA) Standing Committee on Foreign Relations, Armen Ashotyan, on Wednesday received Heribert Hirte, FRG Bundestag Member, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on EU, and Member of the Committee on State and Legal Affairs.

Hirte is in Armenia to take part in the OSCE/ODIHR conference in capital city Yerevan, and entitled: “Preventing and Countering Hate Crimes against Christians and Members of other Religious Groups - Perspectives from the OSCE and beyond.”

Ashotyan highlighted the Armenian NA’s effective cooperation with the German Bundestag, noting that the Armenian side is ready to make necessary efforts for the development and deepening of relations with the German legislature.

Heribert Hirte, for his part, stressed the high level of Armenia-Germany relations, noting that he is ready to take practical steps for boosting parliamentary relations between the two countries.

Regarding the challenges facing the Christian communities, particularly in the Near East, chairman of the RA NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations stressed the matter of the security of the Armenian communities, as well as the preservation of cultural heritages. Freedom of thought, conscience, rule of law, and human rights also were touched upon.

Within the framework of parliamentary cooperation, Armen Ashotyan lauded the effective and constructive activities between the parliamentary friendship groups of Armenia and Germany. Also, he has expressed the hope that the German deputies, whose names are mentioned in connection with the Azerbaijani Laundromat corruption scandal, will not be included in the Armenian-German parliamentary friendship groups.

At the talk, Armen Ashotyan highlighted also the matter of Armenian Genocide recognition by the international community, stressing that such recognition is a step to prevent new crimes against mankind.

In addition, Armen Ashotyan proposed his German counterparts to take part in the restoration of the Armenian Genocide Saint Martyrs Memorial Church in Deir Ezzor, Syria.