Thursday, August 23 2018 17:23

ArmInfo. During his official visit to the Czech Republic, the President of the Armenian Parliament Ara Babloyan met with the President of the Senate of the Czech Republic  Milan Stech on August 22.

According to the press service of the Parliament, during the meeting  Babloyan noted that Yerevan attaches great importance to the  development of its relations with the Czech Republic, which is one of  Armenia's most important partners in Europe.

The President of the National Assembly also pointed at the importance  of cooperation between the delegations of the two countries in the  international parliamentary structures, noting that the Armenian side  hopes to deepen this cooperation.

Referring to bilateral inter-parliamentary relations, Ara Babloyan  welcomed the establishment of a new friendship group in the Czech  Parliament, noting that friendship groups play a big role in the  development of relations between the two countries.

The Head of the National Assembly of Armenia expressed gratitude to  the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic for the recognition of  the Armenian Genocide and other crimes against humanity in 2017,  expressing hope that the upper chamber of the Parliament following  the example of the Chamber of Deputies will also recognize the  Armenian Genocide.

Touching upon the events in Armenia, Babloyan assured his Czech  counterpart that the events that had taken place would not affect the  relations between Armenia and the Czech Republic. The President of  the Parliament noted that the shift of power in Armenia occurred  without shocks. In this context, Babloyan called on international  partners to continue to assist Armenia.

During the conversation with Milan Stech, Babloyan stressed that  Armenia stands for the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict  exclusively by peaceful means within the framework of the OSCE Minsk  Group.  In turn, President of the Czech Senate Milan Stech presented  the domestic political situation in the Czech Republic, stressing  that, despite some contradictions, the Czech government recently  received a vote of confidence. According to Milan Stech, it is  obvious to the Czech side that Armenia wants to deepen bilateral  relations with the Czech Republic.

The President of the Senate of the Czech Republic confirmed that the  domestic political changes in the Czech Republic will in no way  affect the Armenian-Czech friendly relations, and in some sectors the  Czech Republic can support Armenia. In this context, he touched upon  the possibilities of expanding cooperation between the two countries  in the field of education. Stech noted that the Czech Republic would  be happy to host the best students from Armenia to continue their  studies.

The President of the Senate noted with satisfaction that certain  progress was noticed in the trade relations between the Czech  Republic and Armenia. According to Milan Stech, Armenia is  politically in a complicated region, therefore, the Czech Republic is  always ready to be in dialogue with Armenia.

In his turn, Ara Babloyan noted that, being a member of the EEU,  Armenia managed to convince the European partners that relations can  be built not on the principle of "or-or", but on the principle of  "and- and."

Touching upon the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Stech noted that the  position of the Czech Republic on this issue is clear, the problem  should be solved peacefully, at the negotiations' table. According to  him, the armament of one or the other party in no way contributes to  the resolution of this conflict.

At the end of the meeting, the sides noted with satisfaction that  bilateral relations between the countries continue to deepen and  develop.