Between 8-12 April the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) took place. The political situations in Armenia and Georgia were one of the most important topics of the discussion. The Prime Ministers of both countries, Nikol Pashinyan and Mamuka Bakhtadze, held speeches at the assembly.
Nikol Pashinyan began his speech on the Velvet Revolution in Armenia. He highlighted that the revolution was a remarkable success for Armenia and that it was a “Revolution of love and solidarity,” because it was initially based on the principle of nonviolent struggle. Responding to the auspices of some parliamentary members that the revolution was a result of foreign involvement, Pashinyan replied that no foreign forces were involved in the Velvet Revolution. “Sometimes people engage in strange debates. There is no involvement of any foreign force in our domestic processes. The revolution in Armenia was not against any country, or any organization. The people of Armenia rose up for a free and happy future”, said Pashinyan.
In regards to internal reforms he stated that “Armenia today is unequivocally a democratic country with absolute freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, and our government is continuing to enhance the respect for human rights. We have managed to root out systemic corruption and to create real prerequisites for everyone’s equality before the law”, stressed Pashinyan. He also said that besides its big internal achievements “our democracy needs to be reinforced by economic and institutional safeguards. The development of democratic institutions, the existence of an independent judiciary, and the creation and strengthening of anti-corruption institutions are all key areas in which we need the support of the Council of Europe. This is important not only for consolidating the outcomes of our political revolution, but also for succeeding in our recently-launched economic revolution, aimed at encouraging the economic activity of our citizens, creating real opportunities for them, making Armenia even more attractive for investments and tourism”, concluded Armenia’s Prime Minister.
Not only did Pashinyan touch upon the internal issues of Armenia, but he also talked about the external ones. Confronted with the question why Armenia voted against the resolution which condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea, Pashinyan replied that it is difficult to choose amongst friends. “We are trying to do everything, I say we are trying, because I am not sure that we always succeed in it. In many cases conflicts involve our friends on both sides. It is very difficult to make a choice between a friend and another friend. Sometimes you have to commit, but our choice, our global goal, is always aimed at peace, dialogue, stability and development”, the Prime Minister stated. Another important aspect that has been covered were Armenia’s relations with Iran. “During the meetings with high-ranking European officials I have registered that our European partners realize the importance of the Armenian-Iranian relations and agree with our vision to maintain and develop our relations with Iran,” underlined Pashinyan.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was the last topic which he touched upon. “As all the other democratic governments, the Armenian government as well stands for a exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict. It is extremely important that we managed to start quite a constructive and positive dialogue with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev but I am convinced that the dialogue of leaders alone is not enough for resolving the issue. It is very important for the two general publics to engage in the dialogue too, it is important to prepare them for peace and not war”, said Pashinyan. He also appealed to the CoE to be more involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.
The Prime Minister of Georgia, Mamuka Bakhtadze, also received a number of questions from the PACE lawmakers. The questions were mostly concerned with Georgia’s internal reforms.
Bakhtadze highlighted that last year’s presidential elections have transformed the Georgian state into a parliamentary democracy. “Our political team believes that a parliamentary democracy is the best model for Georgia to create a strong and European state,” said Bakhtadze, adding that “the role of parliament has never been so strong in Georgia”. He also noted that regarding democracy and human rights protection the best indicator would be the court in Strasbourg, where the cases have decreased by 80 percent, he said.
On the topic of economic reforms, the Prime Minister stated that efforts are being undertaken “to make Georgia a regional hub for international business, tourism, logistics and education.” He also stressed the fact that Georgia is ranked 6th in the open budget index "which measures our very important policies on the government-level." Confronted with the question on the annulation of debts of 600.000 blacklisted Georgian citizens in 2018, Bakhtadze replied that the idea came from him personally during his mandate as Georgian Minister of Finance. “The people did not have any chance to participate in the economic life of Georgia” and the situation badly affected the national economy which resorted Bakhtadze to make this decision. After the initiative was carried out "the country has been upgraded by major international credit agencies", concluded Bakhtadze.
President of PACE, Liliane Maury Pasquier, said that the speeches of the Georgian and Armenian Prime Ministers were highly anticipated. Georgia and Armenia joined PACE only 20 years ago, but they have achieved excellent progress on their democratic path”, concluded Pasquier.
