YEREVAN. – What should the parliamentary diplomacy of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia be, what kind of mutual relationship should it enter with the foreign policy pursued by the government, what are the philosophies, forms of and mechanisms for its implementation, and how can the parliaments of Armenia and Artsakh cooperate in this context were discussed in Yerevan, with the delegation of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) NA.

Ruben Rubinyan, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the NA of Armenia, on Friday told about the aforesaid to reporters in parliament.

To the remark that Azerbaijan FM Elmar Mammadyarov had stated that it is fundamental to them that Artsakh does not participate in the talks as a party, Rubinyan replied as follows: “And it’s fundamental to us that Artsakh returns to the negotiating table.”

Asked whether, as a result, the negotiations were entering a deadlock, the Armenian MP responded: “No. I believe that the negotiations—and, in general, foreign policy—are not a one-step phenomenon. And one should not expect from every meeting, or after every disagreement that talks, or negotiations have entered a deadlock. There is a process, we have positions, principles, and we [the Armenian party to the Karabakh conflict] are consistently presenting them.”

And as for the arrangement to reduce tension on the border, Ruben Rubinyan said as follows: “There is a process in that respect. There is a direct link between the parties, [and] which enabled to reduce tension in recent months. The parties are regularly speaking through that direct link. [But] naturally, the situation is such that there is always a risk that there will be increase in tension.”