A regular Cabinet meeting took place today, chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

All issues included in the agenda of today's Cabinet meeting were adopted without reporting. Nikol Pashinyan referred only to the report adopted by the European Parliament yesterday, January 18.

"Dear colleagues, naturally it is very difficult and there is no great desire to talk about any other topic, but something happened yesterday, which I think should be mentioned, because it is a very important event.

During the plenary session of the European Parliament held from January 16 to 19, ithe "Implementation of the common foreign and security policy. Annual Report 2022” was adopted on January 18. David McAllister, chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, was the rapporteur.

That document contains extremely important records about our region and the Republic of Armenia. In particular, the report strongly condemns Azerbaijan's September 2022 aggression against the sovereign territory of Armenia, which it assessed as a violation of the ceasefire and an action with serious, negative consequences for the peace process.

The report reaffirmed that the territorial integrity of Armenia must be fully respected and called on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately withdraw the troops from all territories of Armenia. It expresses conviction that it is not possible to achieve sustainable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan by military means. This requires a comprehensive political settlement in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter, the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, as well as the 2009 OSCE Minsk Group's fundamental principles of territorial integrity, self-determination and non-use of force. The report expresses concern regarding the war crimes and inhuman treatment of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians by the armed forces of Azerbaijan and calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to release the prisoners of war. It emphasizes that the comprehensive peace traty between Armenia and Azerbaijan should address the root causes of the conflict, including the rights and security of the Armenian population living in Nagorno-Karabakh, the return of displaced persons and refugees, the protection and preservation of cultural, religious and historical heritage, as well as territorial integrity. It also welcomes the deployment of the European Union civilian mission on the border of Armenia with Azerbaijan and calls on the Council of the European Union to expand the number of deployed experts, increase the capabilities of the mission, and strengthen the presence in the region. It strongly condemns Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which is a violation of the Trilateral Declaration of November 9, 2020, as it may create a premeditated humanitarian crisis for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. It demands the authorities of Azerbaijan to immediately restore free movement through the Lachin Corridor. It reminds that only through diplomatic means it is possible to achieve a fair and lasting settlement for the benefit of the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

This document was adopted with 407 votes in favor, 92 against, and 142 abstentions. I must emphasize that this document is not only about Armenia, it is a very extensive document, points 92 to 99 refer to the Republic of Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh, our region.

The accepted document is very important in the sense that it essentially expresses the objective reality, and in this regard I should also thank the members of the European Parliament, our colleagues from the Republic of Armenia, who continuously and consistently worked to deliver objective information to the members of the European Parliament and our partners. We must continue our efforts in this direction and ultimately achieve the implementation of the declared political agenda."