MUNICH (RFE/RL) — The Council of Europe’s Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric spoke of “concerns” about ongoing political developments in Armenia when she met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Munich at the weekend.
The meeting focused on the Armenian government’s judicial reforms and, in particular, its controversial decision to hold a referendum on replacing most members of the country’s Constitutional Court.
In his opening remarks at the meeting publicized by his press office, Pashinyan again accused the court of maintaining close ties to the former Armenian leadership.
“We are in a very, very careful process of demining our democracy, our judiciary, and I am very glad to have this opportunity to give you some information about the current processes because recently we decided to have a referendum connected with the Constitutional Court,” he said.
“Of course, from the Council of Europe side we watch very carefully what is going on,” responded Pejcinovic Buric. “There are some concerns and I would like to hear from your side how you see this process developing.”
“For us, it is very important that obligations and standards are followed as we have other bodies that will be involved in work with Armenia within the judiciary and the Constitutional Court,” she added in English.
