YEREVAN, AUGUST 23, ARMENPRESS. The official visit of Speaker of the Parliament of Armenia Ara Babloyan to the Czech Republic has kicked off on August 22, the Parliament told Armenpress.

The Armenian delegation includes MPs Tachat Vardapetyan, Armen Rustamyan and Hrachya Hakobyan.

The delegation met with President of the Czech Senate (upper house of parliament) Milan Štěch. During the meeting Speaker Babloyan thanked for the invitation and warm reception and stated that Armenia attaches great importance to the stable development of friendly ties with the Czech Republic since it is one of Armenia’s most important partners in Europe.

Ara Babloyan attached importance to the cooperation of the delegates of the two countries in international parliamentary structures, stating that the Armenian side expects to further deepen and coordinate this mutual partnership. He also highlighted the key role of parliamentary friendship groups for the development of bilateral relations.

The Speaker thanked for the adoption of the resolution recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide and the crimes against humanity by the Czech Chamber of Deputies (lower house of parliament) on April 25, 2017, expressing hope that the Senate as well will follow this example and will recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Coming to the domestic developments in Armenia, the Speaker assured the Czech partners that the recent changes have not affected the Armenian-Czech firm relations. He said the transition of power in Armenia in honor of the two sides has taken place without any shocks. In this context he called on the international partners to continue the support provided to Armenia.

Ara Babloyan told Milan Štěch that Armenia sees the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict exclusively through peaceful means under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

In his turn the Czech Senate President welcomed the Armenian parliamentarians and stated that he assesses his delegation’s visit to Armenia in October 2017 as excellent. He introduced the domestic political situation of the Czech Republic to the guests, stating that despite some disagreements, the Czech government managed to receive a trust vote recently.

Milan Štěch said the Czech side clearly sees Armenia’s desire to further deepen the bilateral relations with the Czech Republic. He also positively valued Armenia’s foreign policy with the international partners.

Speaker Ara Babloyan noted that Armenia, being a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), managed to assure the European partners that the relations can be built with “both, and”, rather than “either, or” principle.

As for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Milan Štěch said the position of the Czech Republic on this issue is clear: the conflict should be settled peacefully, around the negotiation table. He said arming one of the sides doesn’t contribute to the solution of the conflict.

At the end of the meeting the sides stated that Armenia and Czech Republic know at best the histories of each other which contributes to further strengthening the friendly relations between the two countries.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan