I Believe I am the Most Effective MP Working in International Organizations Today: Zohrapyan

The government has set a goal to fill the Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) with MPs who will engage in dialogue with Azerbaijan, and naturally, they will do everything possible to ensure that Naira Zohrapyan is not part of that delegation. This was stated by BHK MP Naira Zohrapyan in an interview with "Factinfo." It should be noted that there are rumors in the press that the government is preparing to exclude Zohrapyan from the PACE delegation.

"Their agenda does not interest me at all. I would advise Nikol Pashinyan not to target individuals or aim to persecute opposition figures to the end, but rather, to prioritize the issue of prisoners of war until the end. The enthusiasm he spends in pursuing various opposition figures and depriving them of different tools through unconstitutional legislation, if he could use that enthusiasm in negotiations with Aliyev, we would have made significant progress on that issue today," said Naira Zohrapyan.

The MP notes that a surprising phase of Armenian-Azerbaijani dialogue has begun, which was also mentioned by the head of the Azerbaijani delegation at PACE, stating that they have reclaimed their lands, justice has been restored, and now a phase of friendly relations and dialogue with Armenia has commenced. "As an MP, I continue to be a thorn in their throat because I have said and continue to assert that Azerbaijan is a war criminal and I will advocate for this in all international organizations. If they have set a task to fill the delegation with MPs who will come and negotiate with Azerbaijan, it is natural that they will do everything to ensure that Naira Zohrapyan is not part of that delegation. But since this government will eventually leave and I am confident we will have a government that serves the interests of the people, let them do whatever they want; their actions do not concern me. The day will come when both the organizers and the perpetrators of their unconstitutional actions against me will be held criminally liable, do not doubt that," Zohrapyan stated.

The MP assures that she will go as far as the European Court to challenge the unconstitutional votes cast by the "My Step" bloc and hold all responsible parties accountable. "I continue to fulfill my duties and believe that today I am the most effective MP working in international organizations, and naturally, this government does not appreciate an MP who creates inconvenience for Azerbaijan and Turkey. When Larisa Alaverdyan spoke two months ago and stated that Nikol Pashinyan would do everything to recall Naira Zohrapyan from the PACE delegation, I thought that the first Ombudsman of Armenia was exaggerating, but now I see that she was completely right," Zohrapyan said.

It should be noted that at the last PACE session, unlike the MPs from My Step and LHK, BHK MPs Naira Zohrapyan and Mikael Melkumyan participated online. There are also reports in the press that the boycott had a political meaning, as Gagik Tsarukyan decided that they would participate online in the PACE session. In our conversation, Naira Zohrapyan indicated that they opted for this participation format. "The meeting was hybrid; participation could be both in-person and online, and we chose the online option, which in no way reduces the effectiveness of our participation. We suggested to Mr. Tsarukyan that online participation was the right choice, and he agreed," Zohrapyan said.