President receives Uruguayan Vice President and Senate President Danilo Astori

President Serzh Sargsyan today received the Vice President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay and the President of the Senate, Danilo Astori. The President welcomed the dignitary and expressed satisfaction with the fact that 2014 has been a promising and important year for the development of the Armenian-Uruguayan friendly relationship, thus opening up new prospects for the two countries to further enhance their relations.

Serzh Sargsyan noted that he warmly recalls his state visit to the brotherly country of Uruguay and his meeting with President Jose Mujica. The Armenian President asked Danilo Astori to pass along his warm greetings to Jose Mujica, and his congratulations and best wishes to newly-elected President Tabare Vazquez. The President underscored that during that visit he was convinced once again that Uruguayans respect Armenia and the Armenian people and that Uruguay honestly wants to promote interstate relations and multi-sectoral cooperation with Armenia.

Uruguayan Vice President and Senate President Danilo Astori mentioned that the warm and friendly attitude of the Uruguayan leadership and all the social strata toward Armenia has strong foundations. At the meeting, the parties also reflected upon the opportunities of expanding and promoting economic cooperation between Armenia and Uruguay.

The interlocutors stressed the importance of inter-parliamentary diplomacy in boosting interstate relations. Serzh Sargsyan and Danilo Astori agreed that the activities carried out by the two countries’ parliamentary friendship groups have further enhanced the present friendship.

The Armenian President once again expressed his gratitude to Uruguayan authorities and the Uruguayan people for their invaluable contribution to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide as far back as 1965 and for launching the process of international recognition of that crime, triggering repercussions all over the world. In the President’s words, the recognition of the Armenian Genocide the other day by the two chambers of the parliament of another South American country, Bolivia, proved once again that the friendship rooted in shared values can’t be damaged.

At the meeting, Serzh Sargsyan also highly appreciated Uruguay’s balanced position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.