On March 5, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received the newly appointed Ambassador of Cyprus Leonidas Markides (residence in Moscow) on the occasion of presenting the copies of his credentials.

Congratulating Ambassador Markides on his appointment, Minister Nalbandian highly assessed the Armenian-Cypriot brotherly relations and wished him success in his mission, expressing hope that Ambassador with his active work would give a new impetus to the bilateral cooperation.

Expressing gratitude for the reception and good wishes, Ambassador Markides assured that he would spare no efforts for advancing the exemplary cooperation between Armenia and Cyprus.

The interlocutors touched upon issues related to the political dialogue, cooperation in international structures, development of trade and economic relations, expansion of legal framework, discussed steps to be taken in order to expand cooperation in the spheres of tourism and culture.

Edward Nalbandian and Leonidas Markides valued the role of the Cypriot-Armenian community both in the development of Cyprus and in the context of initiatives aimed at deepening the bilateral relations.

Both sides highlighted the importance of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, which opens new perspectives for deepening cooperation both in bilateral and multilateral formats.

During the conversation the sides exchanged views on the process of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the efforts of the international community to prevent crimes against humanity and genocides.

Foreign Minister of Armenia and the Ambassador of Cyprus touched upon preparations for the Francophonie summit to be held in Yerevan in October this year.

The agenda of the meeting included also the issues related to the settlement of the Cyprus and Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts and the mutual support of the two countries to the efforts exerted jointly with the international community in these directions.