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Serbia presents its stance on Karabakh peace deal

Politics
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On October 2 with the meeting between Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Irinej started the official visit. The Patriarch of Serbia Irinej noted that the centuries-old friendship between Armenian and Serbian peoples provides a good basis for the development of co-operation between the two countries. Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and the Patriarch of Serbia highlighted the warm relationships between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church. During the meeting the sides touched upon the developments in the Balkan region. The Serbian Patriarch requested to convey his best wishes and brotherly greetings to the Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Garekin II. In Belgrade Minister Edward Nalbandian was received by the President of the Republic of Serbia Tomislav Nikolić. Welcoming the Foreign Minister of Armenia, the President of Serbia stated that the peoples of Serbia and Armenia are tied with historical friendly similarities, and Belgrade will take steps towards strengthening the Armenian-Serbian relations. Thanking for the reception, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian conveyed the best wishes of the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan to the President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolić and expressed confidence that the upcoming visit of the President of Serbia to Yerevan will give a new impetus to the expansion and enhancement of cooperation between the two countries. During the conversation, the sides mutually expressed the willingness to give a new impetus to the development of the Armenian-Serbian relations in the directions of activation of the political dialogue, expanding the legal framework, deepening trade and economic cooperation. During the meeting the establishment of diplomatic representations in Yerevan and Belgrade was highlighted. President Nikolić and Minister Nalbandian exchanged views on a wide range of international and regional issues and the ways of their solution. In Belgrade Foreign Minister of Armenia met with the Prime Minister of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić with whom he discussed a broad range of issues related to the enhancement of bilateral cooperation in various fields. The Prime Minister of Serbia and the Foreign Minister of Armenia underlined that the interaction between the two countries has serious potential and expressed confidence that through mutual efforts it is possible to activate trade and economic relations as well as ties between businessmen, to encourage mutual investments, to develop cooperation in tourism, science, health care, to increase the bilateral cooperation to a qualitatively new level. The sides shared the opinion that visa regime facilitation between the two countries will provide new opportunities for the promotion of bilateral relations. On behalf of the Government of Armenia, Minister Nalbandian invited the Prime Minister of Serbia to visit Armenia. The negotiations between Edward Nalbandian and the First Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić were held in the Serbian Government House of Receptions. Welcoming Minister Nalbandian, Ivica Dačić characterized the relations between Armenia and Serbia as fraternal tested through history and emphasized that the visit of Foreign Minister of Armenia offers a good opportunity to further advance cooperation between the two countries for the sake of obtaining new arrangements. Expressing his gratitude for the invitation to Belgrade, Minister Nalbandian mentioned that the people of Armenia had the warmest feelings toward the people of Serbia which was based on intertwined history, cultural commonalities and mutual sympathy. “The political dialogue and cooperation between Armenia and Serbia in the areas of trade, economy and culture have a serious potential and we are eager to exert additional efforts to convey to the agenda of our interaction a new content and dynamics”,- said Minister Nalbandian. The Ministers touched upon the preparatory works of the forthcoming visit of the Serbian President to Armenia. Edward Nalbandyan and Ivica Dačić discussed the issues of strengthening the legal framework, developing the trade-economic relations, deepening of inter-parliamentary ties, passing of consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs. The two sides also touched upon the cooperation in cultural, scientific and educational areas. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Serbia agreed on intensifying the efforts towards the visa regime facilitation between the two countries. Minister Dačić informed about the intention to establish an Embassy in Yerevan, Minister Nalbandian said in response that Armenia would reciprocate. In the context of the upcoming presidency of in the OSCE in 2015 the Ministers exchanged views upon the agenda issues of the Organisation. The sides touched upon various regional and international issues. Minister Dačić represented the issues of the Balkan region and Serbia’s approaches toward their settlement. Minister Nalbandian represented the joint efforts of Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs for the exclusively peaceful resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Minister Dačić reaffirmed the principled position of Serbia on the support to the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and exclusively peaceful resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of the principles and elements proposed by them. Minister Nalbandian reaffirmed Armenia’s position on Kosovo conflict and welcomed the ongoing dialogue between Belgrade and Pristine aimed at finding of mutually acceptable resolution. Minister Vučić represented the steps implemented in this direction. He thanked for the Armenian peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. The Minster of Foreign Affairs of Armenia invited his counterpart to visit Yerevan. After the meeting, the Ambassador of Armenia to Serbia Gagik Ghalachian and the Head of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Mirjana Milosavljević signed a Memorandum of Cooperation Between the Diplomatic School of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia and the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Serbia had a joint press conference. Edward Nalbandian also met with Ivan Mrkić, the Serbian President’s adviser on political issues and former Minister of Foreign Affairs. Recalling the meeting in Yerevan in March, the sides expressed satisfaction that the agreements are already being implemented. They discussed a range of issues on the bilateral agenda as well as pressing international and regional issues. Edward Nalbandian was hosted at the National Assembly of Serbia, where he met with the Deputy Speaker of Serbian Parliament Vladimir Marčinković and the leader of Armenia-Serbia inter-parliamentary friendship group Alexander Codrić. During the meeting the role of Parliamentary diplomacy in development of interstate relations was highlighted, as well as the paths of strengthening of inter-parliamentary contacts, the cooperation in the Parliamentary Assemblies of the international organizations were discussed. Minister Nalbandian represented in details the efforts of Armenia and the international community towards peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In the evening of the same day concluding his visit, Foreign Minister of Armenia left for Yerevan, reports the MFA Press Service.