An Armenian delegation, led by National Assembly (NA) Speaker Galust Sahakyan, on Monday met, at the French NA, with its president, Claude Bartolone.

Sahakyan noted that relations with France occupy a special place in the foreign policy agenda of Armenia. He added that the historical and cultural ties between the two nations also are a major factor in the development of interstate relations.

“Also, it is impossible to ignore the fact that France is the first country in the world to recognize the Armenian Genocide by law.

“Close interparliamentary cooperation has an important role in the development of interstate relations between the two countries,” Sahakyan specifically stated.

Speaking about bilateral relations, Bartolone, for his part, underscored the presence of a large Armenian community in France. He also reaffirmed that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved peacefully and within the OSCE Minsk Group format.

At the end of the talk, the Armenian NA leader invited his French counterpart to Armenia to attend the events to be held in April 2015, on the centenary of the Armenian Genocide.

On the same day in Paris, Galust Sahakyan also participated in an economic forum entitled “Armenia, as Access to the Eurasian Economic Union Market.”