On September 23, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, in the framework of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly met with Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić. 

Welcoming the Secretary General of the CoE Minister Ararat Mirzoyan commended the multidimensional cooperation with the organization established within years and noted that CoE remains one of the most important partners for our state in the process of the democratic reforms in Armenia, in ensuring the rule of law and the protection of human rights. Marija Pejčinović Burić congratulated Armenia on holding parliamentary elections in accordance with democratic standards.

Touching upon the peace process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the aggression unleashed by the Azerbaijani side against Artsakh, the Minister highly valued the statements and calls by the Secretary General and various bodies of CoE aimed at the need to end the military actions and to eliminate the humanitarian consequences of war resulting from the war. 

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan stressed that so far Azerbaijan continues to hold Armenian prisoners of war and civilians, which is a violation of international humanitarian law, as well as of its obligations under the trilateral agreement. Minister Mirzoyan urged the Secretary General to use its authority, particularly reserved by the 52th Article of the European Convention on Human Rights, to facilitate the repatriation of Armenian POWs. He also stressed the need of ensuring an unimpeded access to Artsakh for the international organizations, in particular for the competent bodies of CoE. 

During the meeting the interlocutors also touched upon the 2019-2022 Armenia-CoE Action Plan, its adaptation to new realities, as well as the issues of developing the next four-year plan.