Within the framework of the working visit to Strasbourg, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met with the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the council of Europe, Jean-Claude Mignon, CoE Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland and Human Rights Commissioner Nils Muižnieks.
Serzh Sargsyan and Thorbjørn Jagland made a statement for the press upon the conclusion of the meeting and answered the questions of the members of the Assembly.
President Sargsyan said they discussed the priorities of the Armenian presidency of the Council of Europe, particularly the reforms implemented within the framework of the CoE, the raise of effectiveness of the European Court of Human Rights and the need to fight intolerance and racism.
“Armenia attaches great importance to the productive activity of the Council of Europe and will continue to contribute to the raise of the role and standing of the structure in European architecture,” President Sargsyan said.
“Armenian has always been committed to universal European values as a most important guarantee of our country’s prosperity, pan-European cooperation, steady development and maintenance of peace. Democracy, rule of law, protection of human rights comprise the value system the vision of our country’s development is rooted in,” he added.
The CoE Secretary General is set to visit Armenia to attend the High-Level Conference on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Europe to be held in Yerevan on 21-22 October. Referring to the conference, President Sargsyan said: “I think the issue is more than urgent today and we can resist these challenges thanks to the experience of the Council of Europe and the effective application of its legal tools.”
During the meeting the parties referred to the Karabakh issue and reiterated the trust in the format of the Minsk Group co-chairmanship.
