On September 29, in the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Artsakh in the Republic of Armenia, the President of the Artsakh Republic National Assembly Ashot Ghoulyan met with the special representative of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on the South Caucasus, Christian Vigenin.

Greeting the European parliamentarian, Ashot Ghoulyan expressed hope that the next meetings will be held in Stepanakert, which will allow the representative on the South Caucasus issues to get acquainted with the situation in the conflict zone, as well as with the public opinion and official position of Artsakh.

Expressing gratitude for the meeting, Christian Vigenin noted that he is well aware of the complicated situation in the region; nevertheless, he reiterates his conviction that the Nagorno-Karabakh problem should be settled exclusively by peaceful means. The Special Representative stressed that he follows the official position of the OSCE, formed over the past few years, and wants to use the opportunities of the parliamentary assembly for the sake of a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Ashot Ghoulyan drew the attention of the Representative of the European organization to the fact that despite the successes that Artsakh has had during 26 years of independence in the field of democracy, human rights protection and public security, it is the only region that, due to Azerbaijan’s policies of denial, remains deprived of the European aid programs. However, the Republic of Artsakh continues to invest its own resources to ensure the development of the European value system and sees its future only in conditions of freedom and independence.

Then the parties exchanged thoughts on the prospects of regional security, measures that needed to be taken to create an atmosphere of trust, and the role of parliamentary diplomacy.

The meeting was attended by the member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, head of the Armenian delegation to the OSCE PA, Hermine Naghdalyan.