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Not everybody in the PACE saw the reality from Baku oil derrick, Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Galust Sahakyan said in his speech today at the parliament session.

As was reported, during its winter session the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on January 26 voted on two reports:  “Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water” – a scandalous report prepared by Milica Markovic, MP from Bosnia and Herzegovina - was adopted by 98 votes to 71, with 40 abstentions. Another controversial report that drew a wide response - “Escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and the other occupied territories of Azerbaijan” prepared by British MP Robert Walter who holds Turkish citizenship was rejected in a 66-77 vote. 

Below is the speech of NA Speaker Galust Sahakyan released by the Armenian parliament’s press service:

“Dear colleagues,

Last week the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) discussed two Resolutions relating to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, which became a peculiar cornerstone for that European institution. In fact, those Resolutions distorting the reality, impeding the peaceful negotiation process on the Karabakh conflict were an attempt by their authors to discredit that European high platform and deliberately mislead the international community.

They were also direct and indirect attempts to cast a shadow, to underestimate the OSCE Minsk Group activities and to make as a participant of the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh issue an institution, which has no such function and authority.

Meanwhile, in their statement preceding the discussion of the Resolutions, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs once again reminded the PACE and the international and regional other organizations that the OSCE Minsk Group is the only format for the solution and negotiations on the problem.

They urged them not to take such steps which will harm the OSCE Minsk Group mandate or complicate the continuing negotiation process. And in the statement adopted at the next sitting of the European Union-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (PCC) it was noted: “The European Parliament recorded that “it fully supports the negotiation process going on under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, which is the only internationally recognized format of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.”

The actions preceding the debate of those resolutions and the results of the debates showed that the parliamentary diplomacy is a genuinely strong weapon, which never loses its significance, and which we can reasonably use. Moreover, it refers to both the members of our delegation and our colleagues not involved in it.

In this regard, I would like to congratulate all the MPs, who adequately presented the authenticity and implications of the issues raised in the abovementioned Resolutions and their motivations, reasons and possible consequences in the discussions with their colleagues, in different international structures and formats during this period.

Dear colleagues,

The abovementioned two Resolutions debated in the PACE with their non-pro-Armenian content, in terms of actions had a certain good influence, once again documenting our ability of acting together and the potential of reaching a result with joint efforts.

Moreover , I mean not only the parliamentary forces, in honour of which I should say that the inter-party relations and different viewpoints over different issues, disagreements and also disputes did not prevent their consolidated efforts against anti-Armenian manifestations, for the sake of the Republics of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.

The governmental and non-governmental institutions, public and non-governmental organizations, ruling and opposition, their partner and adverse parties, in short, the citizen and the state directed their actions and possibilities in the service of the benefit of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. Being grateful to all of them, I would like also to express my gratitude to our compatriots and organizations of Diaspora, who in this case also with their pro-Armenian actions backed up Armenia and Artsakh.

Deal colleagues,

Regardless of the ballot results, both the abovementioned Resolution and, in general any other PACE resolution, we should not observe from the point of view of victory or defeat, especially when, they say, defeat is an orphan, and victory has a hundred fathers. The fact is that we are able to realize our force and use it unitedly for the benefit of the country. Though the false remains false, irrespective of its volume, nevertheless, the fact that as a result of everybody’s efforts in one of the European most important platforms the so called report with the fake title and content “Escalation of Violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and the other occupied territories of Azerbaijan” failed, speaks that not everybody in the PACE saw the reality from Baku oil derrick. Taking the advantage, I would like to thank all the PACE members, who abstained from the actions and way of thinking discrediting that organization, turning it into a tribune of anti-truth and self-interest, temptation, to which both the authors of those resolutions and MPs voted against them could not resist. The result of it was that one of the debated resolutions, nevertheless, was adopted. That is why the result was that one of the resolutions under discussion, however, was adopted. However, I think that we should not make it a matter of political and politological cheap speculations, what is more, turn it into unclean and dishonest games.

We should be able to work diligently, more devoted and not to consider anything higher than the interest of the country and the people, Armenia, Artsakh and the Armenians. We should carry on our united activities and actions without retreating, looking forward but not back. Our country needs everybody’s consolidated, joint work both in peace and war fronts, both on the way of solution of domestic and external problems”.