On May 17, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a meeting with Marc Cools, the President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. The meeting was held within the framework of the Minister's working visit to Strasbourg.

The interlocutors touched upon  the implementation of the Armenia-Council of Europe Action Plan 2023-2026 and achievements in the field of human rights protection.

Minister Mirzoyan stressed that the continuous implementation of the agenda of reforms in the fields of democratic reforms, rule of law and human rights is an absolute priority for the Armenian Government. In this context, Minister Mirzoyan emphasized the effective use of the CoE mechanizms. 

Ararat Mirzoyan and Mark Cools also discussed issues on cooperation at the level of local authorities.

Views were also exchanged on regional developments. Minister Mirzoyan briefed his interlocutor on Armenia's vision of achieving lasting peace in the South Caucasus and positions of the Republic of Armenia on key issues in the normalization process of relations with Azerbaijan.