Armenian top lawmaker refuses to include controversial 44-day war report in parliamentary agenda

Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan has refused to place the report of the commission investigating the 44-day war on the agenda for the forthcoming parliamentary session, set to commence on September 30.

Simonyan justified his decision by asserting that all legally stipulated deadlines for the publication of the commission’s findings have expired. Consequently, according to the procedural rules of the Parliament, he lacks the authority to submit the report for discussion during the session, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

The Speaker’s refusal has ignited considerable controversy within the ruling parliamentary faction and elicited strong opposition from Andranik Kocharyan, Chair of the Standing Committee on Defence and the head of Investigative Committee. Kocharyan maintains that Simonyan does not possess the prerogative to block the report’s inclusion; however, the Speaker remains resolute in his position.

The ultimate outcome of this dispute remains unresolved, A5rmenian media reports.

The commission was established in February 2022 at the behest of the ruling majority, the Civil Contract faction. Over the course of its inquiry, the commission summoned numerous officials responsible for defence and foreign policy during the period leading up to and throughout the 2020 conflict, including Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

By Vafa Guliyeva