Today the delegation of the National Assembly of Armenia had a meeting with Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin and other officials at the Russian State Duma and discussed several issues of the Armenian-Russian relations that are the most urgent in the current phase. This is what deputy of the opposition Prosperous Armenia faction of the National Assembly of Armenia Mikayel Melkumyan wrote on his Facebook page, adding the following:

“In particular, Mikayel Melkumyan raised the issue of invasion of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and technical equipment in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia (in Syunik Province and other borderline territories) and spoke out about the urgent intervention of Armenia’s strategic partner in order to maintain the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia. Melkumyan stated the following: “Armenia doesn’t support a new war, but it needs dignified peace.”

Melkumyan also mentioned that, according to reports, 19 Armenian prisoners of war have been tortured and killed in Azerbaijan. He also raised the issue of the immediate release of prisoners of war under the “all for all” principle, according to point 8 of the trilateral statement signed on November 9, 2020.

Volodin assigned Chairman of the Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Russians Abroad Mr. Kalashnikov to draft a relevant document that will be submitted during the upcoming meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Mr. Kalashnikov was assigned to work with the parliaments of the Republic of Armenia and other member states of the CSTO, as well as the Mili Majlis of Azerbaijan.

Volodin also raised the issue of Russian schools and the Russian language, to which Melkumyan emphasized that the promise that leader of Prosperous Armenia Party Gagik Tsarukyan had made years ago has been fulfilled (a residential district is being built in the city of Abovyan, and the foundations for the building of a Russian school are laid).

Afterwards, Melkumyan had a meeting with Kalashnikov and discussed the issue of Armenian prisoners of war, the incidents that took place on the state border of Armenia and the current situation, after which Kalashniikov promised to actively interfere in the solutions to the issues.”