YEREVAN. – Armenian National Assembly (NA) Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan on Wednesday received a delegation led by Norbert Lammert, President of the German Bundestag (Parliament), who is in Armenian capital city Yerevan on a three-day official visit.

Abrahamyan expressed a conviction that the German delegation’s visit will contribute to closer interparliamentary ties and it will deepen Armenian-German relations, NA press service informs. In his words, the European direction and the European integration are among Armenia’s foreign policy priorities. The Armenian parliament leader also considered cooperation within international parliamentary organizations to be indispensable.  

In his turn, the German Bundestag president underscored the need to enhance interparliamentary partnership, and considered it necessary to make direct contacts become more active. The head of the German parliament also gave a high assessment to the progress Armenia has achieved within democratic processes. 

The interlocutors also reflected on regional matters. Hovik Abrahamyan noted that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict needs to be resolved solely within the OSCE Minsk Group format and through peace talks, but Azerbaijan hinders the peaceful settlement of this matter. And with respect to the issue of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations, Abrahamyan noted that Armenia has remained faithful to the spirit of the Armenian-Turkish protocols that were signed in Zurich, yet Turkey continues to posit preconditions that do not exist in these documents.   

In his turn, Norbert Lammert underscored regional stability and peace.  

The interlocutors also discussed other matters of bilateral interest.