The ruling majority “Civil Contract” Faction will not support the draft statement proposed by the opposition “Armenia” Faction on the condemnation of the “Shushi Declaration.” Gurgen Arsenyan, an MP of the “Civil Contract” Faction of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, stated about this at Monday’s meeting of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations—and during its debates on the draft NA statement in connection with the ratification of the “Shushi Declaration” by the legislatures of Azerbaijan and Turkey.
“The ‘Shushi Declaration,’ with its provocative and destructive nature, is unacceptable for the Republic of Armenia. It is a serious challenge to regional and global security, does not contribute to the peaceful development of our region, contradicts the Armenian-Turkish relations’ normalization on the principle of ‘without preconditions,’ and raises serious doubts about official Ankara’s real behavior and intentions,” the aforesaid draft states, in particular.
According to Arsenyan, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has twice stated its respective position back in June 2021. “In the statements issued on June 15 and 17, the MFA notes virtually all the theses which are reflected in the draft statement initiated by the opposition,” Arsenyan said.
At the same time, he noted that the Armenian foreign ministry and the parliament should take a single position in this regard.
In his turn, the author of the aforementioned draft statement, “Armenia” Faction lawmaker Andranik Tevanyan, again stated that the adoption of this statement will strengthen Armenia’s “red lines” on security issues from which the country does not intend to deviate.
According to the opposition MP, the Armenian parliament is obligated to respond to the ratification of the “Sushi Declaration.”
“This ‘declaration’ is, in fact, a document aimed against the declaration of independence of Armenia,” Tevanyan concluded.