In honor of the President of Armenia who is in Cyprus on official visit, the President of Cyprus gave official dinner

In honor of the President of Armenia, who is in the Republic of Cyprus on the official visit, in the evening of March 15, the President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades gave an official dinner. At the dinner, the Presidents of the two countries made speeches. They spoke about the centuries-long friendship and about the necessity to deepen relations of the Armenian and Cypriot peoples who are linked by the same system of values, pledged to further strengthen the bilateral interstate relations, and from this viewpoint referred to the expectations raised by the visit of the President of Armenia.

“Histories of our two nations were often similar and common. When we were prosecuted, we were prosecuted for the same system of values whose founders and bearers we were. When we fought, we fought together, relying on our values and our mentality. Today too, true to our principles, unwavering in our convictions, we shoulder each other in moving forward our foreign policy agenda. It is vividly proved by the fact that last April, Mr. Anastasiades personally arrived to Armenia to declare that crimes cannot go unpunished and that “Cyprus and Armenia naturally fight together against the criminals who perpetrated the first genocide of the 20th century.”

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The common history and ties of the Armenian and Cypriot peoples have become a source of inspiration for the development and expansion of our interstate cooperation. I would l like to note with satisfaction that our political dialogue, especially in recent years, has been developing steadily. It is proved by the reciprocal visits of the Heads of the Armenian and Cypriot Parliaments and Ministers of Foreign Affairs, contacts between the members of the two parliaments. There are also numerous cultural and educational contacts. Orderly course of these processes is supported by the bilateral legal field. I would like to stress our bilateral military cooperation which grows stronger by year. Armenia and Cyprus also carry out an exemplary cooperation in the international and European formats. And the fact that in vital for our countries issues we lean on different international principles but at the same time continue to cooperate closely and at different platforms speak from the unbiased positions proves once again that our relations are above any kind of political interests but are rather united by the friendship which withstood the test of times, present brotherhood, and close cooperation in the future.

Dear Friends,

I don’t need to bring proof to support what I have just said: our entire history is a proof of that. What are the political and economic relations between the Kingdom of Cyprus and Armenian Cilicia, our shoulder to shoulder fight to defend the island against the foreign invaders if not a proof our lasting friendship? What was the participation of the highest Cypriot leadership at the commemoration of 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide if not the present brotherhood? What is my current visit, signed documents and the expanding agenda of cooperation if not a promise of our future close cooperation?

I propose to raise glasses for our centuries-long friendship, for the glory of the Armenian and Cypriot peoples, for the glory of our common system of values which makes our brotherhood immovable,” said the President of Armenia.

In his toast, the President of Cyprus spoke about the centuries-long friendship of the two nations and about the Armenian community of Cyprus which makes it even stronger, and whose talented representatives, according to the President of Cyprus, one hundred years ago escaped by miracle the genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire and settled in Cyprus bringing with their decades-long diligence and creative abilities a significant contribution to the development of Cyprus in the economic and other areas as scientists, entrepreneurs and high professionals from various fields.