Sharmazanov called on Latvia and Estonia to follow the example of  Lithuania in recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide in  Ottoman Turkey

ArmInfo. The delegation led by the NA Vice Speaker, the head of the Armenia-Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia friendship group Eduard Sharmazanov, met with the members of the Lithuania-Armenia parliamentary friendship group as part of the  working visit to Lithuania.  Samvel Farmanyan and Suren Manukyan are  members of the delegation. The Ambassador Extraordinary and  Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to Lithuania attended the  meeting.

T. Mkrtchyan. "Lithuania is still the only one from the Baltic  countries to recognize the Armenian Genocide," Sharmazanov said at  the meeting. The NA deputies expressed their gratitude to the  Lithuanian parliamentarians for their help in organizing the  exhibition at the Vilnius Museum of Genocide for the 100th  anniversary of the Armenian tragedy.

The sides stressed the importance of developing the  Armenian-Lithuanian inter-parliamentary relations, cooperation of  friendship groups, as well as the active work of the delegations of  the two countries on international parliamentary platforms. Also  touched upon are regional problems - the interlocutors highlighted  the need for exclusively peaceful conflict resolution.

Speaking about the signing of the RA-EU comprehensive and expanded  partnership agreement, the NA Vice Speaker expressed hope that  Lithuania, as the first state in the world to recognize Armenia's  independence, will be the first to ratify the agreement between  Armenia and the EU in a short time without delays.

The interlocutors also exchanged views on one of the most important  issues of Armenia's foreign policy agenda - international recognition  and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide. The Vice Speaker of the  National Assembly said that next year the 70th anniversary of the UN  General Assembly's convention "On the Prevention and Punishment of  the Crime of Genocide" will be celebrated, and added that genocide is  the greatest crime against humanity that does not have a statute of  limitations. "Lithuania is among the countries that recognized the  Armenian Genocide, I hope the parliaments of other Baltic countries  will follow the example of Lithuania, I regret to note that today's  Turkish authorities are pursuing a policy of denial. The policy of  denial is almost equivalent to the commission of genocide. We, the  parliamentarians, must fight together to condemn the genocides, as  well as against the Turkish policy of denial," Sharmazanov said. The  Vice Speaker of the National Assembly invited the members of the  Lithuania- Armenia parliamentary friendship group to visit Yerevan.