Ishkhan Saghatelyan advances Armenian priorities in high-level meetings with European socialist leaders

PARIS–BRUSSELS— Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Supreme Body of Armenia representative and National Assembly member Ishkhan Saghatelyan held a series of high-level meetings in Paris and Brussels, strengthening ties with European socialist and social-democratic leaders while advancing key Armenian national priorities.

The discussions focused on the rights of displaced Artsakh Armenians, the release of Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan, the protection of Armenian cultural heritage, and developments affecting Armenia’s democracy and regional security.

In Paris, Saghatelyan, accompanied by ARF Bureau member Mourad Papazian, met with French Socialist Party leader and National Assembly member Olivier Faure at the French National Assembly. ARF representatives from France and Armenia also attended.

Saghatelyan thanked Faure for his longstanding support of Armenian causes and highlighted the decades-old political and fraternal relationship between the French Socialist Party and the ARF.

Faure reaffirmed his commitment to keeping Armenian concerns on France’s political agenda. Both sides agreed to deepen cooperation, particularly on the right of return of displaced Artsakh Armenians, the release of Armenian detainees in Azerbaijan and the preservation of Artsakh’s endangered cultural and religious heritage.

In Brussels, Saghatelyan, accompanied by European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) President Kaspar Karampetian, met with senior European parliamentarians and representatives of the European socialist movement.

During discussions with Yannis Maniatis, vice-president of the European Parliament’s Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) Group and head of the Greek PASOK delegation, the two sides reviewed longstanding political ties and explored opportunities for closer cooperation between the ARF and PASOK.

Saghatelyan raised the continued detention of Armenian prisoners in Baku, the protection of Artsakh’s cultural heritage and the rights of its displaced population, including the right of return. He also thanked Maniatis for his support and the positions adopted by the European Parliament and S&D Group on Armenian issues.

Saghatelyan subsequently met with Hana Jalloul Muro, vice-chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs and vice-president of the Socialist International, and Spanish MEP Nacho Sánchez Amor.

Their discussions addressed Armenia’s European integration prospects, domestic political developments and regional challenges. Saghatelyan presented the ARF’s positions, emphasizing the importance of European engagement in defending the rule of law, protecting political freedoms and responding to what he described as unlawful actions by Armenia’s authorities.

The participants also discussed the conditions necessary for achieving a just and lasting peace in the South Caucasus and agreed to strengthen political cooperation.

In a separate meeting with Yonnec Polet, deputy secretary-general of the Party of European Socialists (PES), Saghatelyan highlighted the longstanding cooperation between the two organizations. The ARF remains the only PES member party from the South Caucasus.

Saghatelyan welcomed the adoption of an ARF-sponsored resolution at the PES’s most recent congress and stressed the importance of sustained European attention to Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan, the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from occupied Armenian territories, the rights of displaced Artsakh Armenians and political freedoms in Armenia.

He also outlined the ARF’s assessment of Armenia’s domestic political situation, its position on European integration and its commitment to social-democratic principles.

Concluding his Brussels engagements, Saghatelyan met with Cypriot MEP Costas Mavrides, an S&D Group member and longstanding supporter of Armenian causes.

The two discussed shared Armenian and Cypriot concerns, Armenia’s domestic developments and regional challenges. Saghatelyan praised Mavrides’ advocacy, particularly his role in organizing a European Parliament conference addressing Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan and the need for stronger EU action to secure their release.

Saghatelyan also invited Mavrides to Armenia to discuss future joint initiatives and gain firsthand insight into developments in the country.

The meetings underscored the ARF’s efforts to consolidate political partnerships across Europe’s socialist movement while maintaining international attention on the unresolved consequences of Artsakh’s forced displacement, Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan and challenges to democratic freedoms in Armenia.