From left, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan; Cypriot Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides; and Greek Foreign MinisterGiorgos Katrougalos
NICOSIA (Cyprus Mail)—The foreign ministers of Cyprus, Greece and Armenia agreed on Tuesday that their respective heads of state would meet at a trilateral summit in Armenia in January, adding that the purpose for the cooperation is to promote peace, stability and prosperity through enhanced political dialogue.
They also agreed to cooperate in various areas, such as the economy, trade and investments, agriculture, education and science, IT and innovation, healthcare, crisis management, culture and tourism.
“Today’s meeting reflects clearly our joint determination to further expand and deepen our cooperation and to develop synergies that will benefit our countries and peoples,” Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides said.
To this effect, they agreed to share information, exchange best practices and expertise, and submit, in the coming months, concrete proposals for possible cooperation in the aforesaid areas, to be discussed in their next trilateral meeting.
Christodoulides also said that he had the opportunity to brief his counterparts on the latest developments regarding the Cyprus problem as well as on Turkey’s escalated activities in the island’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in violation of the Republic’s sovereign rights and international law.
The three ministers, according to Christodoulides, also exchanged views on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and on the implementation of the Prespa Agreement, in addition to discussing relations between the EU and Armenia.
“We have assured Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnastakanyan of our unwavering support for the strengthening of EU-Armenia relations, both within the framework of the Eastern Partnership and the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement of November 2017 and beyond,” he said.
In relation to the Partnership Agreement, he said that it was expected to be ratified by the House of Representatives in the coming weeks. “Its entry into force will set EU-Armenia relations on a new footing,” he said.
For his part Mnatsakanyan said that the launch of the platform was very important and very promising in amplifying the traditional friendship that exists between the three nations. He added that they were translating that historical friendship into cooperation to the benefit of the three nations and people.
He also emphasised that the objectives of the cooperation were peace, cooperation and stability for the three countries and the region.
Referring to the expansion of the trilateral cooperation, he said that Armenia was looking forward to welcome the trilateral summit in the near future.
Greek minister Giorgos Katrougalos said the three were very like-minded, peace loving countries, which believe that international law and respect of multilateralism form the basis of international relations and they also share a long history.
“We envisaged the improvement of both economic and political relations, the next step is going to be the trilateral summit among the leaders of our countries”, he said.
He added that Greece intended to help Armenia in its European perspectives.
They also discussed international issues and topics of common interest and concern.
