President of Lithuania arrives in Yerevan

President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda vowed during his meeting with Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan to provide every support for the preservation of the Armenian cultural legacy that has gone under Azerbaijani control.

The presidents held a joint press conference after their meeting in Yerevan.

President Vahagn Khachaturyan said that the high-level visits between the two countries show the strong ties coming from the depth of centuries and the continuation of relations based on similar value system, as well as the determination to expand bilateral cooperation.

The presidents had a comprehensive discussion on the current state and prospects of the Armenian-Lithuanian relations, as well as a broad circle of agenda issues relating to bilateral friendly relations.

“The readiness to deepen inter-state relations was reiterated from both sides. Special attention was paid to the possibilities of increasing trade volumes and deepening bilateral economic cooperation. In this context we discussed prospects of partnership in industry, IT, renewable energy, agriculture and other areas,” President Khachaturyan said.

Khachaturyan said they also discussed Armenia’s efforts aimed at establishing lasting peace in the region. “The efforts of Lithuania and Armenia are identical in this matter. The need for preserving the Armenian cultural monuments in Artsakh and under the Azeri control was specially emphasized. President Nausėda vowed to provide every support for the preservation of the Armenian Christian cultural legacy,” the Armenian President said.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received the President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, who is in Armenia on an official visit, and the delegation led by him. During the meeting the sides exchanged views on regional situation and developments. 

Nikol Pashinyan thanked for that readiness and praised the efforts of the EU, President of the European Council Charles Michel, which, together with the efforts of other international partners, contribute to the creation of an atmosphere of dialogue. The sides stressed the need for a comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. Issues related to the preservation of the Armenian religious and cultural heritage in Artsakh and the involvement of UNESCO in that process were also touched upon.

The sides emphasized the role of democracy in serving security challenges, protecting human rights, the rule of law, the success in sectoral reforms, and ensuring economic growth. The President of Lithuania noted that his country has some experience and is ready to share with Armenia, to exchange information. Prime Minister Pashinyan welcomed the proposal, noting that Armenia attaches importance to the study of the experience of countries with successful development.

The RA NA President Alen Simonyan received the delegation led by the President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda being in Armenia on an official visit. In the private talk followed the solemn reception the RA NA President and the President of Lithuania discussed the perspectives of the joint agenda of cooperation. Problems of regional security were touched upon. The President of Lithuania noted that the only way of the conflict solution are the peaceful negotiations and expressed hope that lasting peace in the region will be established soon.

Armenian FM takes part in 132nd Ministerial Session of the Council of Europe, holds meetings with FMs of Czech Republic, Norway and Spain

On May 20, the 132nd Ministerial Session of the Council of Europe was held in Turin, Italy, where Ararat Mirzoyan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, participated and delivered remarks. In his speech, Minister Mirzoyan, particularly, noted: “It’s been a year and a half since those horrible times, and Azerbaijan claims that the Nagorno- Karabakh issue is solved and they are ready for peace.

I would sound naive but if it’s true why we still struggle for the rights of prisoners of war and detainees and their immediate release and repatriation. Why do we still struggle for cultural rights of people and policy-driven demolition of Armenian cultural heritage under Azerbaijani control? Why we struggle to make Azerbaijan understand that Nagorno Karabakh is not only a piece of territory, it is people, whose dignity should be respected.”

Mirzoyan noted that the Government of Armenia is committed to the efforts to bring peace and prosperity to the region and has reiterated on numerous occasions its readiness to immediately start genuine and constructive negotiations on normalization of relations with Azerbaijan.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky. Minister Mirzoyan presented to his counterpart Armenia’s position on the processes aimed at establishing regional peace and stability. The mediating role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship in promoting the peace process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was emphasized. Touching upon the consequences of the 44-day war, specially the resulting humanitarian issues, Foriegn Minister of Armenia particularly stressed the need for repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and others detained.

Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan held a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Norway Anniken Huitfeldt. Minister Mirzoyan presented the urgent humanitarian issues resulting from the 44-day war, in particular, the need for repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians held in Azerbaijan. He stressed the need for the international community to undertake adequate steps to fully address the humanitarian issues the people of Nagorno-Karabakh encounter. During the meeting, the Foreign Minister of Armenia also briefed his counterpart on the latest developments related to the Armenia-Turkey settlement process.

FM Mirzoyan met with Foreign Minister of Spain José Manuel Albares. The sides touched upon regional and international issues. Minister Mirzoyan presented Armenia’s position on the establishment of regional peace and stability and the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In the context of the humanitarian issues resulting from the 44-day war, the immediate repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians held in Azerbaijan, as well as the preservation of Armenian religious and cultural heritage in the territories fallen under Azerbaijani control were emphasized.

Azerbaijani PM says there is no progress in unblocking economic and transport ties, Turkish FM calls on Armenia to respond positively to Baku’s peacekeeping initiatives

Despite the ongoing meetings within the framework of the trilateral working group (at the level of the Deputy Prime Ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia – ed.), there is no progress in unblocking economic and transport ties between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov said. Prime Minister also said that Azerbaijan has clarified the structure of the delegation for the preparation of the peace treaty, as well as the national commission for the delimitation and demarcation of borders with Armenia.

The Prime Minister of Azerbaijan expressed concern that “Armenia doesn’t comply with the 4th paragraph of the declaration of November 9, 2020, according to which the Armenian armed forces should be withdrawn from the territory of Azerbaijan (meaning the occupied territories of Artsakh – ed.).” Ali Asadov added that “official Baku expects serious progress on both issues in the near future and considers it important to take the necessary measures in this direction.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that Yerevan should respond positively to Baku’s peacekeeping initiatives.

“Now we encourage Armenia to respond to these kind intentions and we see that the Armenian authorities are under pressure from radicals inside the country, and from the outside – from the Diaspora.” According to Çavuşoğlu, the Turkish side not only told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the Armenian side should be encouraged in this direction, but also its other interlocutors.

“During our meeting yesterday (the meeting of Çavuşoğlu and Blinken – ed.), we once again reminded that Turkey and Azerbaijan want peace and showed our goodwill for stability in the region.” Çavuşoğlu recalled that the Azerbaijani side offered Armenia to sign a peace agreement. According to him, Azerbaijan, in turn, supports negotiations on the settlement of relations between Turkey and Armenia.

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