On October 25, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, who is in the Vatican on an official visit, had a meeting with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See.

Highlighting that this visit is taking place in the year marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and the Holy See, the interlocutors commended our bilateral relations based on Christian values, and historical and cultural ties are dynamically developing. In this context, Minister Mirzoyan emphasized the significant contribution of Pietro Parolin to the development of bilateral relations.

They underscored that the continuous high-level visits and meetings between Armenia and the Holy See are a vivid demonstration of productive dialogue.

The interlocutors also discussed opportunities for strengthening and expanding cooperation on international platforms, taking into account the common approaches of the sides to urgent issues of the international agenda.

During the meeting, the Foreign Minister of Armenia presented the positions of the Armenian side on the issues of security and stability in the South Caucasus.

Foreign Minister Mirzoyan drew the interlocutor's attention to the consequences of the latest aggression carried out by the armed forces of Azerbaijan against the sovereign territory of Armenia, emphasizing the imperative of the withdrawal of the Azerbaijani armed forces, the immediate repatriation of all Armenian prisoners of war and the unconditional observance of the ceasefire regime.

The Armenian side emphasized that the main obstacle to the establishment of peace in the region is Azerbaijan's maximalist aspirations and attempts of resolving issues through the use of force or threat of use of force.

A reference was made to the issues of the protection of Armenian spiritual and historical-cultural monuments from destruction and distortion of their identity in the territories fallen under the control of Azerbaijan. In this regard, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia emphasized that to this day Azerbaijan is hindering the visit of the UNESCO assessment mission to Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent areas.