Armen Ashotyan: in the South Caucasus no conflict can have a military  solution

ArmInfo. Non-violent transfer of power in Armenia testifies to the existence of a high level of development of political culture. On June 27 at the plenary session  of the Euronest PA, the chairman of the National Assembly Standing  Committee on Foreign Relations, the head of the Armenian delegation  in the structure Armen Ashotyan stated.

According to the press service of the Parliament, Ashotyan also  stressed that all the parties involved in the process made  considerable efforts to avoid clashes.

"The new government of Armenia is the result of the choice of a  legitimate parliament, which is an extremely important constitutional  base in terms of further democratic development of the RA," Ashotyan  said.

"When interacting with the new government, it is very important to  eradicate intolerance, to encourage political pluralism of opinions,  to guarantee freedom of the press, to respect the rights of free  expression, to exclude political prosecution," he said.

The Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on  External Relations also touched upon the process of amendments to the  Electoral Code. In this context, he stressed the importance of  carrying out electoral reforms with political consensus, involving  the public and solely on the basis of international principles, in  particular the proposals of the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR,  highlighting the establishment of logical time frames for holding  elections.

Referring to the RA-EU Comprehensive and Expanded Partnership  Agreement, Ashotyan stressed the importance of early ratification of  the document in the parliaments of the EU member states - before the  elections of the European Parliament in 2019. 

In the process of rapprochement of relations with the EU, Ashotyan  stressed the importance of a more meaningful application of the  principle "more for more" - with emphasis on cooperation and  assistance in political and other spheres based on ideological  values.

"In the South Caucasus, no conflict can have a military solution,"  Ashotyan said, while discussing the importance of peace and stability  in the region. The head of the Armenian delegation also noted that  the solution of the Artsakh conflict should be based on the  principles of self-determination of peoples, territorial integrity  and the exclusion of force or threat of force.

In conclusion, Ashotyan expressed hope that the Eastern Partnership  region will in future become the cradle of peace and cooperation.