Armenian Parliament Speaker reiterates support for Nicosia on Cyprus  issue

ArmInfo.The Delegation headed by the President of the RA National Assembly Alen Simonyan is on two-day official visit in Cyprus. The official visit began by the  meeting with the President of the House of Representatives of the  Republic of Cyprus Annita Demetriou.

As the press service of the Armenian parliament informs, after  greeting each other a talk was held over the Armenian-Cypriot  centuries-old friendship, common past and the mutual aid carried out  in different episodes of history.

The RA NA President underlined that Cyprus was first in Europe in  1975, and the second in the world to recognize the Armenian Genocide,  set April 24 as Armenian Genocide Memorial Day, as well as  responsibility for denial of genocides.

The excellent level of cooperation between the legislative bodies of  the friendly countries was especially stressed, pre-indicating the  perspective programmes.

The sides considered the format of the Committees on Cooperation  functioning in parliaments the best mechanism for more expanding the  inter-parliamentary agenda. The NA President highly assessed the  exemplary cooperation of deputies of the two countries in different  parliamentary assemblies for reaching the favourable solution of the  important issues for each other.

The Head of the RA legislative body thanked the friendly Cyprus for  the unanimous adoption of the resolution condemning the Azerbaijani  aggression against Artsakh by the House of Representatives of Cyprus  on 9 October 2020. He also expressed his gratitude to the President  of the House of Representatives of Cyprus for receiving the  participants of the 44-day war on the initiative of the MP of  Armenian origin Vardges Mahtesian. Alen SImonyan considered  condemnable the visit of the delegation headed by the Chair of  Committee on International Relations and Inter-Parliamentary  Cooperation of Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan Samed Seyidov in July 2021  to the northern part of Cyprus for taking part in the events of the  47th anniversary of the partial invasion by the Turkish side.

The President of the RA legislative body reaffirmed the full support  of Armenia to the Republic of Cyprus and its people for the  restoration of justice and the re-unification of brotherly Cyprus.   The sides observed as priority the launch of the format  Cyprus-Armenia-Greece parliamentary cooperation, affirming that wide  opportunities would be created for the development of numerous  spheres of mutual interest.

The President of the House of Representatives of Cyprus assured that  she would make all efforts for strengthening the Armenian-Cypriot  inter-parliamentary relations. She has expressed confidence that the  RA NA President's visit is an important contribution to voicing  mutual commitments and elaboration of joint programmes.

The RA NA President invited his Cypriot colleague to arrive in  Armenia on an official visit.  The meeting was ended by publishing  bilateral statements for the press.  The Presidents of Armenia and  Cyprus also visited the ceasefire line within the framework of the  official visit.

Simonyan also met with Cypriot Defense Minister Charalambos Petrides.   During the meeting, the parties noted the existence of mutual  understanding and support between the two countries, highlighted the  effective cooperation in international structures to advance the  agenda for the prevention of genocides. The parties also touched upon  the military-political dialogue between the defense ministries of the  two countries, which is carried out in the course of bilateral and  multilateral meetings.  Speaking about the Azerbaijani-Turkish  military aggression against Artsakh, Simonyan thanked Cyprus for the  principled position and support of the people of Artsakh, pointing  out the importance of humanitarian and financial assistance provided  to the Armenians of Artsakh in 2020. He also touched upon the  resolution adopted on October 9, 2020 by the House of Representatives  of Cyprus, which condemned Azerbaijan's aggression against Artsakh.

The parties stressed the importance of effectively realizing the  opportunities in the format of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and  Enhanced Partnership Agreement. This issue was also discussed at the  meeting of Simonyan with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus  Nikos Christodoulides.

At the meeting with the Cypriot Foreign Minister, the Speaker of the  Armenian Parliament pointed out the importance of the earliest launch  of the Cyprus-Armenia-Greece parliamentary cooperation format,  especially in the situation after the 44-day war. In this context, an  exchange of views took place on issues of regional security and  stability.

The parties touched upon the Cyprus issue. The President of the  National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia noted that Armenia will  continue to support Cyprus in international organizations and stands  for a peaceful settlement of the issue through negotiations on the  basis of the principles of UN resolutions. Both sides agreed to do  their utmost to further strengthen cooperation and friendship. The  Cypriot Foreign Minister stressed the invaluable role of the Armenian  community in the public and political life of Cyprus.  The  interlocutors discussed the investment opportunities of the Cypriot  side, stressing the importance of economic and tourism cooperation  with Cyprus.