President Vahagn Khachaturyan received the delegation led by the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the National Council of Slovakia Marián Kéry

Today, President Vahagn Khachaturyan received the delegation led by the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the National Council of Slovakia Marián Kéry.

Welcoming the guests, President Khachaturyan noted that Slovakia is one of the important partners of Armenia in Europe and our country is ready to expand cooperation with that country in all the fields of common interest, both on bilateral and international platforms.

“After gaining independence, we have always sensed Slovakia’s support. This year we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries, and that’s a good opportunity to think of expanding our cooperation even further.

I want to express my gratitude to you for your position regarding the issue of Nagorno Karabakh. The statements adopted by your parliament have been a support for us, and we hope that this will continue in the future.

Besides, you have done a great job regarding the adoption of the EU Council’s decision to deploy a long-term civilian observation mission in Armenia (EUMA). Slovakia was one of the six countries to take the initiative and addressed the issue to the EU High Representative.”

Marián Kéry expressed his gratitude for the reception and noted: “Our visit has two main purposes. The first one is the 30-year-long cooperation between Armenia and Slovakia. The second one is that we want to express our support to the part of the Armenian people that is now in the zone affected by the Karabakh crisis.

Yesterday, we visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial and the Museum and we are proud that in 2004, our National Council recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide.

The 44-day war transpired in 2020 when Azerbaijan attacked Nagorno Karabakh and also reached the borders of Armenia. For that reason, in 2020-2021, in our National Council, we adopted a resolution that condemns these steps of Azerbaijan.”

During the meeting, Marián Kéry noted in his speech, that he is well aware of the developments regarding the blockade of the Lachin Humanitarian Corridor and highlighted the necessity to restore the normal operation of the Corridor.

Touching upon the regional realities, President Vahagn Khachaturyan highlighted that despite the existing issues, the goal of the Armenian Authorities is to establish an everlasting and stable peace in the South Caucasus. The President emphasized that Armenia adheres to its position of establishing good neighborly relations with both Turkey and Azerbaijan, opening borders without any preconditions, and unblocking communication channels.

During the meeting, both sides attached importance to the promotion of interparliamentary cooperation, as well as the organization of mutual visits on the highest political level.