YEREVAN. – Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Friday received a visiting European Union (EU) delegation—led by Isabelle Dumont, the representative of the French chairmanship at the Council of the European Union and Advisor for Continental Europe and Turkey of the French President's Cabinet, as well as Toivo Klaar, EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia.

First, Mirzoyan congratulated France on assuming the chairmanship of the EU Council, expressing a conviction that this chairmanship will be productive and will contribute to the establishment of stability and security in the South Caucasus, the foreign ministry of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. The further development of the Armenia-EU partnership was also highlighted.

During the meeting, reference was made to the humanitarian issues caused by the 44-day Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war in the fall of 2020. In this context, the immediate returning of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian detainees still being held in Azerbaijan was stressed.

The interlocutors exchanged views also on taking steps to increase the level of security and stability along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.

The need for full observance of the ceasefire, as well as the need for the Azerbaijani leadership to stop its belligerent rhetoric was stressed, too.

In addition, the Armenian FM stressed the importance of the full resumption of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks under the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.