Iraq and Armenia Developing Bilateral Relations

YEREVAN — Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has arrived in Armenia at the invitation of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian. The Foreign Ministers of the two countries held talks in Yerevan on Tuesday and summed up the results of the meeting at a joint press conference.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said the bilateral relations have been actively developing over the past years. He specially emphasized the opening of the Embassies in Baghdad and Yerevan, the two sittings of the Inter-Governmental Commission, as well as the frequent reciprocal visits.

An agreement was signed today between the Foreign Ministries of the two countries on the conduct of consultations, which will allow the two countries to coordinate the approaches of the two countries within the framework of different international organizations, Minister Nalbandian said, adding that “our approaches on regional and international issues are very similar.”

During the meeting Ministers Nalbandian and Zebari exchanged views on a number of issues of bilateral interest, particularly Iraq’s efforts to establish stability and reinforce security in the country, the efforts of Armenia and the international community toward the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict. The parties also touched upon the intensification of cultural ties, cooperation in the fields of education and science.

Speaking about the meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents in Vienna, Edward Nalbandian said it was “constructive.” The Minister informed that he will meet his Azerbaijani counterpart on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial in Kiev.

“We’ll try to enhance the negotiation process,” the Minister said, adding that the political will of the parties is very important here.

“Armenia has stated on many occasions that it supports the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict on the basis of the proposals made in the statements of the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries. It will be possible to move the negotiations forward and get closer to the resolution of the issue if Azerbaijan demonstrates the same approach,” the Minister said.