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Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan hit back at opposition MP Gegham Manukyan’s criticism of his latest remarks on Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) while on travel to the Czech Republic, calling it an “internationally recognized part of Azerbaijan.”

In an interview to the RFE RL’s Armenian Service last week, the speaker said Azerbaijan’s attack on Artsakh and the occupation of Armenian territories were “completely different in terms of law”.

“Azerbaijan conducted an operation in Karabakh in compliance with at least 3-4 UN resolutions,” Simonyan said.

At a parliament session on Tuesday, Manukyan decried his statements, stating that UN resolutions were about the establishment of a ceasefire in Artsakh and did not legitimize Azerbaijan's attack and seizure of it.

In response, Simonyan accused the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), which Manukyan represents, of recognizing the Azerbaijani sovereignty over Artsakh while passing a bill on Armenia’s administrative and territorial units in the parliament previously.

"The fact remains that the territory we are talking about has been and remains an internationally recognized part of Azerbaijan,” the speaker said.