Military Operations Discontinued, Yet Situation Remains Unstable: Rubinyan

On October 19, Ruben Rubinyan, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia and head of the Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), met with Ambassador Mårten Ehnberg, the permanent representative of Sweden to the Council of Europe and head of the group of rapporteurs on democracy issues. The meeting was also attended by Armenian parliamentary delegates Vladimir Vardanyan and Sona Ghazaryan.

Welcoming the guests, Rubinyan emphasized the importance of cooperation with the Council of Europe and highly appreciated the organization's support for the ongoing democratic reforms in Armenia.

Discussions focused on the 44-day war in Artsakh, its humanitarian consequences, and the urgent return of Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan. Armenian parliamentarians voiced concerns about Azerbaijan’s anti-Armenian propaganda and pointed out the potential risks it poses to the stable development of the region.

Rubinyan noted that although military operations were halted by the trilateral statement of November 9, the situation remains unstable due to Azerbaijan's failure to fulfill its commitments under the statement, ambitions towards Armenia's sovereign territories, and new threats of force.

The representatives also touched upon various ongoing democratic reforms in Armenia. While discussing reforms in the judiciary, the representatives of the Council of Europe expressed their readiness to support the enhancement of an independent judicial system in Armenia.

The delegation also included ambassadors from France, Russia, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Andorra, Iceland, as well as representatives from the Council of Europe Secretariat.