On September 18 Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received David Lidington, the Foreign Office Minister for Europe.

Welcoming the guest, the Minister Nalbandian said, “This year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and the United Kingdom and we can state that the cooperation between the sides is on a sustainable basis.”

Minister Lidington expressed gratitude for the reception and stressed that the United Kingdom considers Armenia as a long-term and valuable partner and his visit is aimed at the provision of a new impetus to the cooperation with Armenia.

In the course of the talks, the Ministers discussed the ways to deepen cooperation in political, trade and economic, scientific and educational, cultural and other spheres.

Edward Nalbandian mentioned that Minister Lidington’s delegation included businessmen, as well, which would provide an opportunity to give a new impulse to economic interaction. In this context, Minister Lidington informed about the scheduled visit of a big delegation of British businessmen to Armenia in the near future.

The interlocutors stressed the importance of the projects implemented by the United Kingdom towards supporting Armenia’s development, democratic and economic reforms, as well as education and cultural activities of the British Council in Armenia.

One of the key topics of the discussions was the cooperation between Armenia and the European Union and the projects implemented in the frames of that, as well as the current negotiations and the progress registered by Armenia towards that direction.

During the talks, Ministers Nalbandian and Lidington touched upon a number of regional issues and global problems, in particular developments in the Middle East and the situation created over Iran’s nuclear program.

The Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs presented the current stage of the negotiations over the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

The sides touched upon the damage to regional stability and security caused by the Azeri-Hungarian deal over the release of the Azeri murderer Ramil Safarov.

In this regard, Minister Lidington mentioned that the United Kingdom supports the efforts exerting by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. The Foreign Office Minister for Europe stressed that his country absolutely shares the provisions in the statements of the European Union, Council of Europe and OSCE Minsk Group over the release of Safarov.

The meeting of the Ministers was followed by a joint press conference.