“PM relies solely on people’s will”: Armenia denies reports claiming Pashinyan asked CSTO assistance over protests
armenpress.am: The Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan denied a report that claimed that during the latest Moscow visit the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan asked fellow CSTO leaders to provide support regarding the ongoing anti-government protests in Yerevan.
When asked on the matter at a press briefing, Grigoryan said:
“The downpour of fake news on the prime minister has increased recently also on the international level, and naturally this report is also fake. I would like to say for the record that in all domestic affairs Prime Minister Pashinyan always relied on the will of the Armenian people. Even after the serious crisis that happened after November 9 he relied solely on the people’s will and saw the resolution of the crisis within the framework of domestic institutional capacities,” Grigoryan said.
Regarding the civil disobedience actions carried out by the opposition, Grigoryan noted that the organizers of the demonstrations are exercising their right to protest for more than a month, and that the police are supervising it as part of maintaining law and order.
“It is obvious that the protests organized by the opposition did not receive public support. Naturally we see the resolution of the protests exclusively by internal political institutional means,” he said.
The security and the protection of rights of the people of Artsakh is a priority for Armenia, and Armenia is heading for the negotiations with this agenda, the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan said.
“Security and protection of rights are priority, meaning our compatriots living in Artsakh must have security and protection of rights. And the status of Artsakh will stem from this. And we are headed to negotiations with this agenda,” Grigoryan said.
PM Pashinyan received the members of the Italy-Armenia Friendship Group
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received representatives of the Italy-Armenia Friendship Group: members of the Chamber of Deputies Giulio Centemero, Andrea Casu, Alvise Maniero, member of the Senate Alberto Airola.
The Prime Minister stressed the importance of the Armenian-Italian friendly relations, warmly recalling his visit to Italy, during which Italy reaffirmed its support for democracy in Armenia. Nikol Pashinyan praised the activities of the friendship groups, the inter-parliamentary cooperation, which complement the efforts of the governments of the two countries. The Prime Minister expressed gratitude for the adoption of a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide by the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament in April, 2019.
The head of the Italy-Armenia friendship group Giulio Centemero noted that Italians also warmly recall PM Pashinyan’s visit and the events held within its framework. Emphasizing the role of parliamentary diplomacy and introducing the members of the delegation, he noted that it includes both ruling and opposition MPs, which shows the appreciation of the entire Italian people to the Armenian people. Giulio Centemero shared the results of the meetings in our country, spoke about the achievements of Armenia in the technological sphere, “Tumo” Center for Creative Technologies, noted that Italy is interested in the Armenian model of IT development.
The Prime Minister noted that IT is one of the dynamically developing spheres in Armenia, in general, education is one of the strategic directions of Armenia’s development, due to which the government has initiated profound reforms in the sphere of education and science. Nikol Pashinyan presented details about the reform, offering to exchange experience and information.
The issues of ensuring peace in the region and the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict were touched upon during the meeting. The sides exchanged views on the post-war situation, the return of Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan, and the preservation of the Armenian cultural and religious heritage in Artsakh. The Prime Minister highlighted the adoption of the resolution in March 2022 on the need to return Armenian prisoners of war by the Italian parliament and the statements made by Italian parliamentarians during the war unleashed by Azerbaijan in 2020.
Nikol Pashinyan stressed that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be settled on the basis of the principles proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, and Armenia is the supporter of the regional peace agenda, which, however, cannot be unilateral. The Prime Minister of Armenia attached importance to the support of European partners, including Italy, in this process, condemnation of provocations by them. The Prime Minister also referred to the Armenia-Turkey dialogue process.
The MPs of the Italy-Armenia Friendship Group expressed their support for Armenia, the Armenian people, in overcoming difficult challenges and strengthening democracy. They noted that they will resolutely continue their activities not only in the direction of closer Italy-Armenia ties, but also in the direction of closer EU-Armenia ties, and will stand with the friendly Armenian people.
Armenian side has not cancelled or rejected any meeting. MFA Spokesperson commented on the statements of President of Azerbaijan
Vahan Hunanyan, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, commented on the statements of the President of Azerbaijan on the work of the Demarcation and Border Security Commission.
“The Armenian side remains committed to the implementation of the agreements. Accordingly, the Armenian side has not cancelled or rejected any meeting. Within the framework of the agreements reached between the leaders of the two countries in Sochi and Brussels, the Armenian side continues to be ready to launch the work of the commissions.”
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