YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received the delegation led by Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić, the PM’s Office said.

Welcoming the visit of the CoE Secretary General to Armenia, the Prime Minister said that Armenia, as a CoE member state, will continue the democratic path and is attaching importance to the cooperation in the field of protection of human rights, democracy development and development of independent judiciary.

Pashinyan called the work with PACE, ECHR productive and touched upon the issue of the return of Armenian prisoners of war, hostages and other civilians held in Azerbaijan, stating that the government is working closely with the ECHR on this direction. The PM highlighted the support of the international community, including that of the CoE to the solution of the issue and thanked the CoE Secretary General for addressing the issue for many times.

Marija Pejčinović Burić said the Council of Europe values the partnership with Armenia, and the purpose of her visit is to further strengthen it. She welcomed Armenia’s democratic reforms, over which the country is registering a visible progress, and highly valued the holding of snap parliamentary elections in 2021 in accordance with the international standards, which were free and competitive.

The sides also touched upon issues on the agenda of the bilateral relations. The discussion also focused on the course and challenges of the reforms in the justice sector. Pashinyan highlighted the importance of raising public trust towards judiciary, and in her turn the CoE Secretary General reaffirmed the readiness to support this process with the CoE consulting assistance, experience and knowledge.

Promoting women engagement into different spheres of public life was also touched upon. The implementation of the Armenia-CoE Partnership Program 2019-2022 was discussed.

Views were exchanged on the domestic and foreign political situation in Armenia, the regional and international security challenges. The importance of dialogue on the path of achieving peace and prosperity was emphasized.

PM Pashinyan presented the positions of Armenia on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border demarcation and delimitation, the activity of the border security commission and the peace agenda, emphasizing the importance of the addressed response of the international community to the provocative statements and actions that distort the regional stability.