On June 27, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, who is in Athens on a working visit, met with Foreign Minister of Greece Nikos Dendias.

Ararat Mirzoyan thanked for the warm welcome and emphasized that the visit reflects the brotherly nature of the relations between the two peoples and the high level of interstate relations.

The Foreign Ministers commended the intensity of the political dialogue and the effective cooperation between Armenia and Greece, expressing readiness to deepen the existing cooperation. The sides touched upon the prospects of developing bilateral relations in a number of strategic directions.

Ararat Mirzoyan and Nikos Dendias exchanged views on the prospects of further expansion of cooperation in trade and economic, high technologies, military, cultural, science, tourism and a number of other directions, outlining the steps to be undertaken in that direction. The implementation of targeted works towards deepening cooperation in the spheres of economy, innovations, promotion of mutual investments and activation of business to business contacts was especially emphasized.

Referring to the Armenia-Greece-Cyprus framework of trilateral cooperation, the Foreign Ministers expressed confidence that the continuation of contacts in that dimension and the implementation of joint programs will greatly serve the vital interests of the partner countries.

They discussed the prospects of promoting cooperation in the field of regional transport infrastructures, in particular, the works carried out in the direction of establishing the "Persian Gulf-Black Sea international transport corridor". The sides underscored the political will to undertake concrete steps towards completing the process.

The interlocutors discussed the possibilities of strengthening cooperation in multilateral international platforms, including UNESCO.

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Greece also touched upon a number of issues related to the Armenia-EU partnership and the programs within the Eastern Partnership.

The Armenian side highly appreciated the support of the Greek side in the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, emphasizing that Armenia continues its consistent efforts towards the promotion of the international agenda of prevention of genocides.

During the meeting, they touched upon issues of regional security and stability. Minister Ararat Mirzoyan briefed his counterpart on the situation around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the position of the Armenian side on the processes aimed at establishing regional peace and stability and the normalization of the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized the key role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship in promoting the process of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and highly appreciated the position of Greece in support of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the mandate of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

Touching upon the humanitarian issues resulting from the Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh, Minister Mirzoyan expressed gratitude to the Government of Greece for providing humanitarian aid.

The Foreign Minister considered unacceptable the provocative rhetoric and actions of the Azerbaijani authorities towards Armenia and Artsakh, emphasizing the fact that Azerbaijan continues to hold Armenian prisoners of war and civilians hostage in gross violation of the norms of international humanitarian law.

They emphasized the prevention of Azerbaijan’s consistent policy of destroying and distorting the identity of the Armenian historical and cultural heritage in the territories fallen under the control of Azerbaijan as a result of the 44-day war. Ararat Mirzoyan stressed the urgency of the involvement of relevant international organizations in Nagorno-Karabakh, especially the unimpeded implementation of the UNESCO fact-finding mission.

During the meeting, they also referred to the latest developments in the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey.

At the end of the meeting, the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Greece participated in the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on European Union Issues between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece.

Following the meeting, the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Greece delivered statements for the press.