The RA NA delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) led by the Vice President of the National Assembly, Head of the delegation Ruben Rubinyan takes part in the work of the Fourth Part of the Annual Session of the Organization going on Strasbourg.
The member of the RA NA delegation Hripsime Grigoryan gave a speech at the Assembly, Armenian Parliament press office reports.
“Thank you Madam President.
The last time I was addressing this very respectable hemicycle Armenia and Azerbaijan were still on their way to making peace. Today, the Peace agreement is pre-signed, and we can state that peace is established between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
This, however, is not the end of the story, but a reality that needs to be nurtured and taken care of on a daily basis.
When we say nurture, the first is not to harm, to avoid using narratives that contradict the achieved agreements such as terms associated with the conflict, or narratives of enmity, something we unfortunately continue hearing in official speeches of the Azerbaijani president.
Building and deepening trust is another important brick for strengthening peace. And it can be built by addressing remaining problems among them the release of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians held in Azerbaijan, also the fates of missing persons.
Another essential direction that will strengthen peace, stability and prosperity in the region is the unblocking of regional communications. The August 8 Declaration signed in Washington by the PM of Armenia, president of Azerbaijan and the U.S. president as witness states that all communications should be opened and operate based on the principles of sovereignty and jurisdiction of the country they pass through, as well as based on principles of reciprocity and equality. The TRIPP project – (Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity) is a connectivity project in the territory of Armenia. In fact, the TRIPP is a reflection and part of the PEACE Crossroads project initiated by the Armenian government. Its aim is to serve as a bridge connecting the East to West, the North to South through railways, highways, but also pipelines, electricity lines, and cables. It is also important to mention that opening of the border with Türkiye will be highly essential for the implementation of the TRIPP route investment project and the Crossroads of Peace at large.
Once all of the aforementioned is in process and implemented, peace will become more institutional as connectedness and interdependency will create a reality that is mutually beneficial hence creating less room or motivation for threatening that reality.
Concluding, I want to express hope that the peace process is going to grow only stronger despite persistent challenges. On even a more optimistic note, I wish this peace process to be inspiring and useful for other conflicting parties as all of us suffer from continuous wars and all of us only benefit from peace. Let us stand for and work endlessly to establish and strengthen Peace.
Thank you,” the MP said.
