Alen Simonyan Delivered Speech in Armenian in Turkey, Despite Working Language Being Russian or English

The newspaper "Haykakan Zhamanak" reports: "The Speaker of the National Assembly, Alen Simonyan, made a 'patriotic' bold move in Turkey yesterday. During the plenary session of the parliamentary assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), he delivered his speech in Armenian, even though the working languages of the assembly are either Russian or English, both of which he masters fluently.

In his speech, the Speaker addressed the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations: 'Since last year, Armenia and Turkey have begun a process of normalizing relations, within the framework of which certain achievements have been recorded, but there are still many unresolved issues. We hope that in the near future, it will be possible to not only transport humanitarian cargo across the land border but also to open it for international traffic and trade.'

He also spoke about the five-month closure of the Lachin corridor and the checkpoint installed by the Azerbaijanis, highlighting that this situation 'cannot serve as a basis for stable and lasting peace.'

The Armenian delegation was located at the Marriott hotel, where the event was organized. Outside the hotel, they participated in official lunches accompanied by security personnel provided by the host. The presidency of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation organization has passed to Ukraine, despite the opinion that it would refuse due to the war, and the presidency would be handed to Armenia. It has been decided that the meetings will take place in Istanbul.'

For more details, see the newspaper's issue today.