ARMENIA, CYPRUS WILLING TO DEEPEN INTERPARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION
armradio.am
12.11.2008 17:24
On November 12 Hovik Abrahanyan, the President of the National assembly
of the republic of Armenia, received the delegation headed by Marios
Garoyan, the President of the House of Representatives of Cyprus.
Greeting the guests, Mr. Abrahamyan attached importance to the
deepening of interparliamentary ties, which will facilitate the
development of mutually beneficial cooperation with the Republic of
Cyprus in the trade-economic, scientific-educational and cultural
spheres. The Armenian Parliament Speaker emphasized the friendly
and warm attitude of the authorities of Cyprus towards the Armenian
community, noting that hosting thousands of Armenians at the turns of
the last century, Cyprus was one of the first countries to recognize
the Armenian Genocide in 1982.
Turning to the high-level relations between the parliaments of the two
countries, Mr. Abrahamyan attached importance to bilateral cooperation
and close collaboration within international organizations. The
Armenian Parliament Speaker said the Republic of Armenia backs the
solution of the Cyprus issue on the basis of a federal structure with
one government and citizenship.
Turning to the Karabakh conflict resolution, Hovik Abrahamyan reminded
that Armenia has always stood for the resolution of the issue via
peace talks within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group. In this
regard, the Speaker stressed the importance of the declaration
signed in Moscow between the President of Armenia, Azerbaijan and
Russia, which reconfirms the commitment to solve the issue in a
peaceful way. Speaking about regional issues, Mr. Abrahamyan noted
that Armenia is ready to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey
without preconditions.
President of the House of Representative of Cyprus Maris Garoyan
thanked for warm reception and said his great dream of visiting the
land of predecessors came true today. He expressed confidence that
the visit will contribute to the reinforcement of relations between
the two parliaments. Mr. Garoyan invited the Armenian Parliament
Speaker to pay an official visit to Cyprus.
The Cyprus House Speaker informed his Armenian counterpart about
the details of the Cyprus issue, noting that the issue should be
solved for the sake of preserving the unity of the island. He noted
that being a member of the European Union, Cyprus is ready to support
Armenia on the path of European integration and the Action Plan signed
within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy provides
an opportunity to work in this direction. Mr. Garoyan expressed
willingness to contribute to the close cooperation between the
parliamentary delegations of the two countries within international
parliamentary organizations.