Over 60 representatives of the European Youth Parliament (EYP) from ten countries completed a three-day introductory visit to Nagorno Karabakh Republic. The delegates pursued an aim to study the issue of Karabakh conflict on the spot. The young parliamentarians’ August 22-24 visit was organized by the EYP Armenia and Karabakh NGO “Artsakhakertum,” news website Caucasian Knot reports.



“The delegation included young people from Armenia, Russia, France, Serbia, Lithuania, Poland, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, U.S. and Nagorno Karabakh. Apart from sightseeing, a meeting with Karen Mirzoyan, the foreign minister of Nagorno Karabakh Republic, was organized. During the meeting, the minister spoke about the current political situation in the region,” cochairman of Artsakhakertum NGO, Artak Beglaryan, told the Caucasian Knot.



He believes the EYP activists’ visit gives a chance to its members to be acquainted with the history and culture of the NKR. “The young people are already involved in politics to some extent, and it is crucial that they be provided with objective information about the processes going on here and spread the truth in their countries and across the whole world,” Beglaryan stressed.



He added that all the delegates had been informed about Azerbaijan’s so-called “black list,” where they can be included thus being deprived of the opportunity to visit the neighboring country. However, they did not change their determination to visit Nagorno Karabakh Republic.



Hovsep Patvakanyan, EYP Armenia chairman, said the project “An introductory visit to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh” has been carried out for the second year. “The European Youth Parliament is an organization uniting people of different nationalities. The visit of representatives of different countries to the region is crucial as they learnt about Nagorno Karabakh and understood that everything the press says is true. Moreover, projects for broadening the further cooperation between the representatives of various countries will be developed, so that they do not limit with introductory visits alone,” Parvakanyan noted.



Amro Ashur, from Palestine, said this was his first visit to Armenia and NKR, and that he saw “a big difference between Palestine and Karabakh conflicts.” “In Nagorno Karabakh, the tensions are only on the border, while in Palestine, the whole territory is under tension. But I don’t lose hope that both conflicts will be resolved and there won’t be innocent victims any more,” the Palestinian representative stressed.



He also welcomed the fact that the Palestinians have the chance to travel to that country without a visa.



Ovsanna Seyfnaji, a journalist from Iran, said she arrived in Artsakh because as a future specialist in international relations, she “is interested in this region.” She also plans to visit Azerbaijan to get a full view of the situation. “I intend to write an article about my visit in the view that the situation has changed in Iran, the sanctions are lifted, and Iran is looking for ways of establishing ties with other countries, especially the neighboring states,” she said.