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Armenian MPs to support Russia’s initiatives at Assembly of Inter-Parliamentary Union

GENEVA, October 19. /TASS/. Armenia’s delegation to the 133rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union [IPU] will support Russia’s initiatives to raise the status of the Russian language at the Union, to grant associated membership to the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly and to hold IPU’s next session in Russia, Armenian parliament speaker Galust Saakyan told TASS on Monday after a meeting with speaker of the Russian State Duma lower parliament house Sergei Naryshkin.

Naryshkin is on a working visit to Geneva to attend the 133rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union held here on October 19-20.

At the meeting with Naryshkin, Saakayan noted that lawmakers from the two countries were maintaining active cooperation ties and had numerous contacts of both bilateral character and within international forums.

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"We have been told about an initiative to grant an official or working language status in the Inter-Parliamentary Union to the Russian language. I think we will be glad to support this initiative," he said, adding that the Armenian delegation would also support the initiative to raise the status of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent State to an IPU associated member.

Saakyan also said Armenian lawmakers would vote in favour of holding an IPU Assembly in Russia in 2016 or in 2017.

Earlier on Monday, this initiative was voiced by speaker of Russia’s Federation Council upper parliament house Valentina Matviyenko, who is also taking part in the IPU Assembly.

The Armenian parliament speaker said he was confident the two countries’ parliaments should have closer cooperation relations within international organizations to agree positions on international problems. The Armenian delegation, he said, considered that sanctions imposed on lawmakers ran counter to democratic principles and were unacceptable.

Naryshkin, on his part, thanked his Armenian counterpart for his support. He recalled an incident when the Russian upper parliament house speaker, Valentina Matviyenko, had to skip the previous session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union held in New York on August 31-September 2 due to visa problems. Such unfriendly steps from IPU members were inadmissible, Naryshkin stressed.

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