Armenian Foreign Minister meets with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Monday met with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma, who arrived in Armenia as part of the first official visit by a delegation of U.S. mayors and representatives of local self-government bodies. According to the Foreign Ministry, the interlocutors discussed issues related to the expansion of the Armenian-U.S. bilateral partnership agenda, as well as regional developments.

Referring to the concluding session of the Armenia -US strategic dialogue held in Yerevan on June 12, Minister Mirzoyan noted: "As you know, we held the second concluding session of the strategic dialogue between Armenia and the USA, and this time we have not only emphasized the desire to enrich our cooperation in new directions but also decided to work towards a new milestone, raising bilateral relations to a new level of strategic partnership. Thus, we are moving in the right direction, we have tangible results, and we will discuss more.

In response, Richard Verma said: "The strategic partnership is very important to the United States, and as a result of the discussions here, we want to have a clear roadmap on how we can make progress in key areas such as peace and prosperity, the economy, trade, people-to-people contacts, and continuing our cooperation toward a new level."

According to the foreign ministry, the parties discussed issues of Armenian-American decentralized cooperation, emphasizing the establishment and expansion of the cooperation formed between the regions and cities of Armenia and the states and cities of the USA.

According to the source, Ararat Mirzoyan and Richard Verma discussed the development of Armenian-American relations in the context of strengthening Armenia's resilience. They addressed the successful course of reforms aimed at strengthening democracy and the rule of law in Armenia, as well as the valuable support from the United States in that direction.

In the context of regional security issues, Minister Mirzoyan briefed his counterpart on efforts to normalize relations with Azerbaijan, including the signing of a peace treaty. Economic and transport communication issues were also discussed, as well as the opportunities that could be opened up by implementing the "Crossroads of Peace" project initiated by the Republic of Armenia.