“The Armenian National Assembly attaches importance to the reinforcement of cooperation within the framework of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization,” Vice-Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Edward Sharmazanov said at the 43rd sitting of the BSEC PA Committee on Culture, Education and Social Affairs in Yerevan.
According to him, it’s important for the organization to react to the vital interests of all member states. “For Armenia, it’s first of all the lifting of the blockade of the shared border with Turkey,” he said.
“Although paradoxical, Turkey, which seeks EU membership, has sealed the border of the neighboring country at a time, when closed borders in the European Union have long become history, and free movement has been declared a basic principle,” Sharmazanov stated.
Speaking about the Nagorno Karabakh issue, the Deputy Speaker noted that Armenia is committed to the settlement of the Karabakh conflict exceptionally in a peaceful way and attaches importance to the establishment of an atmosphere of trust with the mediation of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs.
“The recognition of the right of the people to self-determination should lie in the basis of the settlement of the Karabakh conflict,” Sharmazanov.
Referring to the Armenian Genocide, he said “the crime of genocide has no statute of limitations” and once again emphasized the importance of the international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide by the international community ahead of its centennial.
“Turkey, which seeks EU membership, continues to avoid looking its own history into the face, evade responsibility and distort history with its policy of denial,” the Vice-President of the National Assembly stated.
