Armenia and Lithuania are henceforth strategic partners - RA FM

ArmInfo. Armenia and Lithuania are henceforth strategic partners.  Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan announced this at a joint press conference with his Lithuanian counterpart, Kestutis Budrys, in Yerevan on May 19.

According to him, this new format of cooperation will not only allow  for a more serious political dialogue between the two countries but  also a more comprehensive approach to Armenian-Lithuanian sectoral  cooperation. He noted that the meeting discussed prospects for  cooperation in a number of areas, including information technology  and cybersecurity, areas in which Lithuania has extensive experience.  Mirzoyan added that issues of Armenian-Lithuanian cooperation in the  context of Armenia-EU relations were also discussed.

"We must, first and foremost, emphasize that our relations are based  on shared values: human rights, democracy, and sovereignty. I must  also note that the values I have listed are becoming the target of  attacks from various centers of power today and are under hybrid  threat. This is one of the areas where we closely cooperate with  Lithuania," the Armenian Foreign Minister said.

He added that he discussed developments in the South Caucasus with  his Lithuanian counterpart, including the peace process with  Azerbaijan, the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, and  issues related to unblocking regional communications.

In turn, Budrys recalled that Lithuania was the first country to  recognize Armenia's independence in 1991.  And today, he said,  Yerevan and Vilnius are raising these relations to a new level by  signing a document on strategic partnership. He noted that promising  areas of bilateral cooperation were discussed at the meeting.

"Regarding security, yes, we discussed the initial situation. The  minister briefed me on geopolitical developments and also spoke about  Armenia-Azerbaijan and Armenia-Turkey relations and the positive  trends in them. We all need positive trends, because we all need  peace," the diplomat said, adding that Lithuania supports the peace  process. He also expressed confidence that establishing peace in the  region and unblocking transport communications will contribute to the  region's prosperity.