YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Armen Ashotyan, chairman of the Armenian parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs, on November 22 held a meeting with Heribert Hirte - German Bundestag lawmaker, deputy chairman of the Committee on the Affairs of the European Union, member of the Committee on Legal Affairs, press service of the parliament told Armenpress.

Heribert Hirte visited Armenia to participate in the OSCE/ODIHR conference on 'Countering and preventing hate crimes against Christians and members of other religious groups' on November 22 in Yerevan.

Welcoming the guest in the Armenian Parliament, Armen Ashotyan attached importance to the productive cooperation with the German Bundestag, stating that the Armenian side is ready to make the necessary efforts to develop and deepen the relations with the Bundestag.

In his turn the Bundestag lawmaker thanked for the warm reception and highlighted the high level of Armenia-Germany ties, stating that he is ready to take practical steps to boost the inter-parliamentary ties between the two states.

Commenting on the issues faced by the Christian communities, in particular, in the Middle East, Armen Ashotyan attached importance to issues relating to the protection of security and cultural heritage of the Armenian communities.

Ashotyan appreciated the effective and constructive activity between the friendship groups of the two parliaments. He expressed hope that the German MPs, whose names are linked with the Azerbaijani Laundromat corruption scandal, will not be included in the Armenian-German inter-parliamentary friendship groups.

During the meeting Armen Ashotyan highlighted the issue of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the international community, stating that the recognition of the Genocide is a step to prevent new crimes against humanity.

Ashotyan also proposed his German partners to participate in the restoration works of the Armenian church in Deir ez-Zor.