Foreign minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan on July 18 met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in New York, the ministry reported.
During the meeting the UN chief said he is impressed with the recent revolution in Armenia, the changes following it, stating that the UN is ready to assist Armenia’s further development in the areas vital for the country. The Armenian FM said Armenia attaches great importance to the cooperation within the UN and reaffirmed the great interest of the new Armenian government to further enrich the joint agenda.
FM Mnatsakanyan introduced the UN chief on the recent domestic political developments in Armenia, stating that the government’s priorities are clear – to implement reforms in the fields of justice, rule of law, providing equal opportunities in social and economic spheres, fighting corruption based on the broad mandate provided by the people, as well as on all other directions that are based on the government’s program and activity.
In the context of ongoing steps aimed at organizing snap elections, minister Mnatsakanyan highlighted the Armenian leadership’s readiness to closely cooperate with the international partners, including the UNDP for properly organizing the elections. António Guterres reaffirmed that Armenia can rely on the UN experience and support in this sense.
The officials also exchanged views on the preparation works of the upcoming 17th La Francophonie summit in Armenia.
Coming to the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the foreign minister reaffirmed Armenia’s commitment to the exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, stating that Artsakh’s status and security are the priorities of the negotiation process for the Armenian side.
In order to promote the negotiation process, minister Mnatsakanyan attached importance to the formation of atmosphere contributing to peace, steady maintenance of ceasefire and refusal from aggressive rhetoric.
The UN chief and the Armenian FM also discussed issues relating to Armenia’s cooperation within the UN, touched upon the joint steps aimed at further deepening and expanding it.