Statement by the Foreign Minister of Armenia and answers to journalists’ questions during the joint press conference with the Foreign Minister of Hungary
“Honourable Mr. Minister, dear Péter,
I am very glad to be here. Thank you very much for the warm welcome and invitation. This visit follows your visit to Yerevan last fall and is the result of a path we took together a year and a half ago. A path meant to overcome the existing challenges, to start from the Armenian-Hungarian relations from a new starting point. Relations that are based on historical warm mutual sympathy, relations that are based on common values. And I am really glad to see the results of this process already. As I mentioned, we had agreed to open diplomatic missions in the capitals: Budapest and Yerevan. Today we are already talking about resident embassies.
Today, we signed a document on political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries, as well as a document on economic cooperation, which provides for the creation of an intergovernmental commission. We also recently had a joint economic conference, where our business representatives also had the opportunity to talk about possible new cooperation.
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Of course, we cannot but emphasize the mutual visits of people and direct contacts between them, and in this regard, of course, I share the importance you gave to the direct flights established by “Wizz Air” between Yerevan and Budapest. I am sure that this flight will attract a lot of interest from both Armenian and Hungarian tourists.
Of course, economic cooperation is extremely important in our relations and international relations in general. I want to inform you once again and say to the public once again about Armenia’s understanding of the importance of international economic programs and the desire to be part of these international economic programs.
I want to talk about the “Crossroads of Peace” initiative of the Government of Armenia. This is an initiative that aims at unblocking all transport and not only transport hubs, connections, and infrastructures in our region – the South Caucasus. This will make it possible to facilitate passenger, cargo and services transportation from East to West, including the territory of Armenia. In the same context, we are also considering the issue of renewable energy supply by Armenia to EU member states. There are specific initiatives and programs in this regard which are still under discussion or will soon be implemented. And Armenia, of course, wants to be part of all these initiatives.
I also want to mention the second factor which is extremely important for economic prosperity and cooperation. That is peace. I want to use this opportunity once again to reaffirm Armenia’s commitment to the establishment of lasting, stable peace in the South Caucasus. We are constructively involved in the negotiations, the purpose of which is to finally normalize the relations with the neighbors, in particular with Azerbaijan, to put an end to the long-lasting conflict. There are a number of principles: mutual recognition of territorial integrity and delimitation based on the Alma-Ata Declaration signed in 1991 and the principles enshrined therein. I have already mentioned the unblocking of infrastructures, and I hope that in the near future, we will be able to record very concrete results here as well.
Of course, the mentioned issues are part of the Armenia-European Union agenda, in addition to bilateral and regional formats. You know, I’m sure, that we are in a process which brings the Republic of Armenia significantly and noticeably closer to the European Union and the European Union to the Republic of Armenia.
A new package of initiatives is currently on our agenda, on our bilateral table, and we will greatly rely on the upcoming Hungarian presidency in the EU Council. We are sure that the issues and planned programs will move forward with tangible steps also during your presidency.
Thank you again for the invitation and for the warm welcome. I am sure that this visit, as well as your previous visit to Yerevan, allowed us to take another tangible step towards the development of our relations.”