STEPANAKERT. – President of the National Assembly (NA) of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic), Ashot Ghoulyan, on Tuesday received US Congresswomen Jackie Speier and Judy Chu, who are also members of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues.

The NA speaker thanked these guests for their work in resolving the issues of Artsakh, Armenia, and the American Armenian community. 

Ghoulyan lauded Judy Chu’s activities in the US Congress, noting that her initiative on national defense in the US law is important in terms of maintaining security and peace in the region, and which is decisive in shaping the future of the peoples of the region.

Congresswoman Jackie Speier, for her part, noted that much remains to be done to safeguard the interests of Artsakh, and the Artsakh people can trust them in this regard.

Congresswoman Chu, in turn, presented her initiative to amend the US national defense law, and which the House of Representatives has passed and aims to strengthen the ceasefire and establish appropriate mechanisms to maintain it.

During the meeting they discussed the demining activities in Artsakh and future cooperation programs.

Subsequently, the US Congresswomen met with the heads of the Artsakh NA factions and standing committees.

During this discussion, the speaker of parliament noted that Artsakh is open for cooperation, and it expects international organizations to not only carry out distant monitoring on the state of freedom and democracy, but also to work directly with the civil society of Artsakh and support the improvement of democratic institutions.

Vice-President of National Assembly Vahram Balayan, Artsakh Deputy FM Armine Aleksanyan and Jackie Speier’s spokesperson were present at the meeting.

During the meeting, the Parliament Speaker noted that Artsakh is open for cooperation and expects international organizations, including American structures, to not only monitor the freedom and democracy situation, but also work directly with the civil society of Artsakh and support democratic institutions.

"People living in Artsakh have the same rights and freedoms as people living in any country, and restrictions on political status are unacceptable. Therefore, I hope that our esteemed Congresswomen will also pay attention to this important issue of security,” Ghoulyan noted.

Speaking about the Armenian Genocide and the genocides taking place in different parts of the world, Jackie Speier said they should do everything possible to prevent them.