Russia hopes situation around Nagorno Karabakh will end with peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan - Matviyenko 

Russia hopes that the current situation around Nagorno Karabakh will end with a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly Valentina Matviyenko said at the session of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, TASS reported.

“We hope that this situation will end with a peace treaty, we sincerely want this”, she said, commenting on the statements of Armenian Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan and Azerbaijani Parliament Speaker Sahiba Gafarova about the possible peace agreement.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Russia’s position on the recent incidents in the area of ​​responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping mission is fixed in the March 26 statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Moscow has strongly called on the parties to ensure unconditional fulfillment of the November 9, 2020 trilateral agreements on a complete ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. 

“The Russian Defense Ministry and the leadership of the Russian peacekeeping mission are taking active steps to de-escalate the situation. At the same time, the peacekeepers are acting in strict accordance with the provisions of the above-mentioned statement of the leaders of the three countries,” Zakharova said.

According to her, Russia is in constant contact with the representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan through the Foreign Ministry; and simultaneous information on the operative situation on the ground is published daily in the summaries of the Russian Defense Ministry. “We continue to work for the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, relying on the existing agreements of the leaders of the three countries, including the delimitation and demarcation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, the unblocking of economic and transport communications. We will actively contribute to the signing of the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Zakharova said.

NKR InfoCenter reported that in the night of March 28 to 29, and as of 10 AM no significant ceasefire violations were registered along the Artsakh line of contact. The operative-tactical situation remained tense, with a certain positive tendency to extinguish. Azerbaijani troops continue to remain at the same bases in Karaglukh, adjacent to Parukh. The Armed Forces of Artsakh continue to take additional measures to strengthen their defensive positions and restrain the enemy. Work with the Russian peacekeeping command staff to prevent possible provocations by Azerbaijan and to withdraw the Azerbaijani armed forces to their starting positions is ongoing. The relevant structures of Artsakh are following the situation and the actions of the Azerbaijani side by all possible mechanisms, and, if necessary, will report on further developments.

Central Information Department of the Artsakh Republic President's Office reported that the President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan convened a consultation with the heads of the power structures dedicated to the recent developments along the line of contact. Minister of Defense of the Artsakh Republic Kamo Vardanyan delivered a report on the operative-tactical situation. The Head of the State noted once again that ensuring the stability in the republic is on the agenda of the Arstakh authorities. According to the President, all efforts are exerted through the Armed Forces of Artsakh and the command staff of the Russian peacekeeping troops deployed in Artsakh, as well as through possible diplomatic means to ensure peace and to withdraw the Azeri troops from the eastern part of the line of contact to their starting positions. During the meeting, President Harutyunyan gave a number of instructions on the organization of the defense of the country and cooperation between the power structures.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan has issued a statement regarding the statement of the Security Council of Armenia. In particular, it's noted that "the cause of the increase in tension in the region is Armenia's failure to fulfill its obligations."

"The statement of the Security Council stressed the importance of using international deterrence mechanisms, in connection with which the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry draws the attention of the Armenian leadership to the fact that humanity has not yet found a better mechanism of international deterrence than international law. A state like Armenia, on the one hand, grossly violates international law, on the other hand, should not talk about the mechanism of international deterrence. If the members of the Armenian Security Council don't yet know what is the best way of international deterrence, then we once again repeat the fundamental principles of international law, including respect for the sovereignty and international borders of states, non-interference in internal affairs, and compliance with international obligations. The Security Council also confirmed the previously voiced position of the Republic of Armenia and invited the Republic of Azerbaijan to immediately begin negotiations on a comprehensive peace treaty."

In this regard, the Azerbaijani ministry noted that "a year ago, the Azerbaijani side proposed to conclude a peace treaty with Armenia at the highest level, and a month ago announced specific principles on which the treaty should be based." 

"If the Armenian side considers the issue of the peace treaty a serious step, and not another public information campaign, then it is time to move on to concrete steps. We would like to note once again that Azerbaijan is ready for this," the statement reads.

Reports of an increase in tension in Nagorno-Karabakh cause concern, and at the same time, the UN welcomes efforts to reduce tension in the trilateral format, as well as by the OSCE Minsk Group, Stéphane Dujarric, the Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General, said, TASS reports.

"We are concerned about reports of tension in Nagorno-Karabakh. We welcome the efforts of de-escalation in the trilateral format and by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs," he said.

A debate between Alen Simonyan and the head of the Azerbaijani Parliament

The delegation headed by the RA NA President Alen Simonyan takes part in the events dedicated to the 30^th anniversary of CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly in the city of Almaty of Kazakhstan.

On March 29, within the framework of the solemn events the RA NA President Alen Simonyan was awarded by the Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council, the Speaker of the RF Federation Council of the Federal Assembly Valentina Matvienko. The heads of parliaments of the IPA CIS participant states also were awarded. Within the framework the heads of parliaments of the IPA CIS participant states visited the Memorial Complex to 28 Panfilov Guardsmen, laid flowers to the memory of the heroes, who sacrificed their lives in the Great Patriotic War.

At the event dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, Alen Simonyan argued with the Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova.

In his speech, Simonyan stated that the Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire. In her speech at the end of the meeting, Gafarova asked for the floor to present Baku's position. "The information about the alleged violation of the ceasefire regime by Azerbaijan is absolutely incorrect .... Members of illegal Armenian armed formations who illegally entered the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan tried to carry out another sabotage against units of the Azerbaijani army, and as a result of the measures taken by our armed forces, they were forced to retreat," Gafarova said. In response, Simonyan stressed that "violations were recorded not only by Armenia, but also by Russia, which is the guarantor in this territory."

Human Rights Defender of Armenia receives Director-General of the International Commission on Missing Persons and Representative of UNICEF in Armenia

Today, the Human Rights Defender Kristinne Grigoryan hosted the delegation headed by the Director-General of the International Commission on Missing Persons Kathryne Bomberger. The meeting was also attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Armenia to the Netherlands H.E. Mr. Tigran Balayan.

Ms. Kristinne Girgoryan presented to the representatives of the International Commission on Missing Persons the direction of the work conducted by the institution of the Defender with the families of the missing persons, which include solving everyday issues faced by them, as well as providing legal counsel and mental health support, and facilitating access to international human rights mechanisms. The Defender underlined that the protection of the rights of both missing persons and the relatives of prisoners of war and civilian captives is in the center of his daily attention both in Armenia and in Artsakh.

During the meeting, the sides of the meeting stressed the importance of involving the relatives of the missing persons in both the development of legislation and mechanisms.

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia Kristinne Grigoryan hosted the delegation headed by the Representative of UNICEF in Armenia Christine Weigand.

During the meeting, a number of issues related to the joint training of teachers and social workers were discussed, as well as the need to introduce educational programs aimed at eliminating hate speech at an early age.

In the context of improving the national mechanisms for the protection of children’s rights, the Human Rights Defender noted that the evaluation and monitoring mechanisms in the process of developing strategies for various national spheres remain imperfect, and further noted that, as the Human Rights Defender, they will pursue the improvement of the evaluation and monitoring mechanisms in the opinions submitted by the Office of the Human Rights Defender on strategies of various spheres, which will provide the Office of the Human Rights Defender to better function as a monitoring body.

Referring to the experience of the long-term cooperation between the Office of the Human Rights Defender and UNICEF, Ms. Christine Weigand underlined that it was one of the most successful in the world, and expressed their readiness to be more effectively involved in the further development of the capacities of the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia.

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