Parliamentary Factions Oppose European Parliament’s New Resolution

A new non-binding resolution (2216) recently adopted by the European Parliament that calls on Armenia to pull out its troops from the “occupied territories of Azerbaijan” has kicked up discontent among Armenian officials.

Saying that the EP’s resolutions have an advisory rather than a binding nature, some of Armenian MPs repeated what Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan said earlier today – Evgeni Kirilov, the author of that resolution and a Bulgarian national, is unaware of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

“I am familiar with the resolution: we have rather beneficial points in it, but there is also some nonsense in it,” said Heghine Bisharyan from Orinats Yerkir Party (Country of Law Party), adding that the author of the resolution is unaware of the situation.

“False, apperently fraudulent data should not be discussed,” said Hovhannes Margaryan, another MP of the same party.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun, ARF-D) will express its opinion about it as soon as the party discusses the issue. Though Artsvik Minasyan from ARF-D expressed his personal opinion.

“This reluctantly reminds us of the possible developments that we were speaking about referring to the Armenia-Turkey normalization. And it is natural that the efforts of the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem in abroad resulted also in the adoption of such a report, which – though a non-binding document – is still aimed at shaping a general atmosphere,” said Minasyan.

Saying that this document is a non-binding one Naira Zohrabyan from the Prosperous Armenia Party recalled that Kirilov was the initiator president of the group called Friends of Azerbaijan, assuming that he could not have been impartial.

“This resolution is unacceptable for us as it contradicts the Madrid Principles, it runs counter to the EU stance over the Nagorno Karabakh that the EU expressed in Athens,” said Zohrabyan.