President Vahagn Khachaturyan received the delegation of the Sweden-Armenia friendship group in the Swedish parliament

President Vahagn Khachaturyan received the delegation led by Björn Söder, the Chairman of the Sweden-Armenia friendship group. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the RA to Sweden Alexander Arzoumanian, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Paruyr Hovhannisyan and NA member Hripsime Grigoryan were also present at the meeting.

Welcoming the guests, the President attached importance to the dynamic development of Armenia-Sweden interparliamentary relations.

“Welcome to Armenia, and, of course, to the Residence of the President. Taking this opportunity, I want to thank you for your active cooperation and support. Throughout these 30 years, Armenia-Sweden relations, based on clear principles and values, have evolved. Those values and principles are democratic institutions, human rights and, of course, the preservation of freedoms. I am sure that your visit, too, will contribute to the development of the relations between our countries, and, of course, you will have another chance to communicate with the authorities of the country and your colleagues. The aspiration of the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the authorities is one – to establish peace in the region and reach a final peace agreement with Azerbaijan through negotiations,” said the President.

Expressing his gratitude for the reception, Björn Söder noted in his speech: “Thank you so much for receiving us. It’s an honor to be here and meet you. As you know, we are a part of the friendship group in Sweden, which is growing. We used to be very few people, members of Parliament, but now, when we started the friendship group after the election, we have increased the amount of members. I think this is a sign that the interest in this region and especially in Armenia is growing in Sweden. And of course, we are very interested in the increase of interparliamentary cooperation with Armenia”.

During the meeting, the sides discussed a wide range of matters regarding the Armenia-Sweden cooperation agenda, as well as ways and prospects for closer cooperation between the two countries on the platform of the European Union. In his speech, President Vahagn Khachaturyan touched upon the regional realities and provided the Swedish Parliamentarians with details on the blockade of the Lachin Humanitarian Corridor by Azerbaijan for over three months.

Speaking of the prospect of establishing sustainable and everlasting peace in the South Caucasus, the President stressed that Armenia adheres to its position of establishing good relations with neighboring countries without preconditions, unblocking communication channels and opening borders.