YEREVAN.- Speaker of the Armenian parliament Hovik Abrahamyan on Thursday received First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Karel Schwarzenberg.

Welcoming Mr Schwarzenberg in parliament, Abrahamyan gave appraisal of his visit with the respect to the development of relations between the states.

Armenia is interested in developing cooperation with the Czech Republic in all directions, taking into consideration also the common goals that Armenia pursues within the framework of the Eastern Partnership project. Touching upon Armenia-EU cooperation, Abrahamyan noted that the European integration is one of Armenia’s foreign policy priorities, and the format of cooperation with the European Union had been considerably enlarged during the recent years.

He pointed out partner relations established between the parliaments of the two countries, expressing conviction that the parliamentary diplomacy is one of the important levers of enhancing the political dialogue between the countries. Abrahamyan also highlighted cooperation within the frameworks of the international agencies.

In his turn, Minister Schwarzenberg noted progress in Armenia-Czech Republic cooperation, which was displayed by active political dialogue, development of inter-parliamentary relations and cooperation in different fields. He also highlighted the role of parliamentary diplomacy in bilateral relations.

The sides discussed Armenia’s internal policy issues and post-electoral processes. Czech official underscored importance of the assessments of the presidential elections given by international agencies. He expressed hope that certain shortcomings recorded by the observers would be corrected.

During the meeting the sides referred to regional problems, both stressing that Karabakh conflict  must be settled exclusively by peaceful means.