The Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe met in Strasbourg on the sidelines of the PACE summer session. Upon the proposal of the Armenian side, one opposition representatives participated in the meeting from each side. The meeting featured Armen Rustamyan and David Harutyunyan from the Armenian side and Sabir Hajiev and Samad Seidov from the Azerbaijani side.
“Our main assertion has been and remains the same – the consultations between the parties should continue until we find response to the main questions. We questioned whether any PACE format with no experience and institutional capacity could play a role in the conflict settlement. Hastiness on this issue is unacceptable and harms the image of PACE. We oppose creation of any platform that might grow into a new stage for propaganda, thus further aggravating the strained relations,” David Harutyunyan and Armen Rustamyan declared.
“The important achievement of this meeting was Azerbaijan's willingness to continue the cooperation, since up until now Azerbaijan was rejecting any proposal to cooperate in any format. We expect that Baku will officially confirm this position of the two MPs. We participate in these consultations, realizing that the establishment of an atmosphere of trust between our peoples and societies creates an effective environment for the negotiation process,” the Armenian MPs declared.
Public Radio of Armenia