On June 10, the Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received Miroslav Lajcak, the Managing Director for Russia, Eastern Neighborhood and the Western Balkans, European External Action Service.

Welcoming the guest, Minister Nalbandian congratulated Mr. Miroslav Lajcak on the occasion of his appointment and expressed confidence that Mr. Miroslav Lajcak’s valuable diplomatic experience would contribute to the activities of the European External Action Service and the further development of the cooperation between Armenia and the EU.

Talking about the relations between Armenia and the European Union, the sides stressed the importance of the positive process in the ongoing negotiations over the Associations Agreement, as well as exchanged views on the preparation of the negotiations around the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.

In the course of the discussions on the visa facilitation regime, Mr. Miroslav Lajcak informed that the launch of the negotiations over that issue is expected this autumn.

The sides also discussed the report published recently by the EU on the implementation of the European Neighborhood Policy Action Plan and the statement on reviewing of the ENP.

During the meeting a number of regional issues were touched upon, as well. Upon the request of the guest, Edward Nalbandian presented the recent developments in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and the expectations of the scheduled summit to be held on June 25.