Blinken praises Armenia’s democracy
WASHINGTON, US (North Press) – The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, praised the reports of democracy and human rights monitoring institutions in Europe, which found that voters’ fundamental rights and freedoms were generally respected in the Armenia’s June elections.
This came in a telephone conversation yesterday with the Armenian Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in which Blinken said that the reports indicated that the candidates were able to launch their campaigns completely freely.
Last month, the Central Election Commission of Armenia declared Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan the winner of the early legislative elections.
Ned Price, the spokesman for the US Department of State, said that the US Secretary of State spoke with the Armenian Prime Minister to offer hearty congratulations to the people of Armenia following the June 20 elections
Blinken highlighted the US support for the Minsk Group Co-Chairs process aimed at a lasting political settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He encouraged Armenia to engage constructively at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
He stressed the US support for Armenia and for the expeditious return of all Armenian detainees from Azerbaijan to Armenia.