YEREVAN, 6 MAY, ARMENPRESS. President Serzh Sargsyan, who is on a working visit to the United States of America, had a meeting with Republican Majority Leader of the Senate Mitch McConnell and Democratic Minority Leader of the Senate Harry Reid. Several other Democratic and Republican senators were also attending the meeting.

As the Public Relations and Mass Media Department of the Structure to the Office of the President of the Republic of Armenia reports to “Armenpress”, the interlocutors discussed a broad range of issues related to inter-parliamentary friendship between Armenia and the U.S. and further development and deepening of the friendly bilateral relations. The sides also touched upon the special role that the U.S. Congress plays in those relations.

According to the President of the Republic of Armenia, it is also due to the active efforts of Senators Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid that those relations are currently at the highest level. Serzh Sargsyan expressed gratitude to the interlocutors for their special care and attention to issues of vital importance for the Armenian people.

The participants of the meeting shared the view that the Armenia-U.S. relations have encompassed a broad framework of cooperation since the independence of the Republic of Armenia. Armenia and the U.S. have strong bilateral and multilateral partnerships.

President Serzh Sargsyan praised the ongoing support that the U.S. government has been providing for years for Armenia’s economic development, the reforms in different spheres, as well as the functioning of democracy and civil society for the reinforcement of Armenian statehood.

The President also praised the role of the U.S. in maintaining regional security and stability, including the active involvement of the U.S. as a co-chairing country of the OSCE Minsk Group in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.

During the meeting, the sides touched upon the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, the remembrance and commemorative events taking place in Armenia and in several countries around the world, including the inter-religious prayer that will be devoted to the Armenian Genocide and will be held at the Washington National Cathedral during the visit of the President of the Republic of Armenia.

The President of the Republic of Armenia and the U.S. Senators exchanged views on the issues and challenges facing the South Caucasus and the process of negotiations over the regulation of the Karabakh issue. The attending senators attached importance to the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide.

The interlocutors also discussed issues related to the creation of alternative opportunities for energy and transport that Armenia needs in a time of blockade.