YEREVAN. - Newly-appointed Spanish Ambassador to Armenia Ignacio Ibáñez Rubio (residence in Moscow) on Tuesday extended his credentials to President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan.

The President congratulated the Ambassador on assuming the office and wished him good luck in carrying out his diplomatic mission in Armenia. The President noted that although the Armenian-Spanish interstate ties have started developing since the establishment of diplomatic relations 25 years ago, the Armenian and Spanish peoples, who are the carriers of an ancient culture and common Christian value system, had friendly ties since old times.

According to President Sargsyan, that circumstance is obliging, it being necessary to intensify the efforts for developing cooperation and enhancing bilateral relations in all the spheres.

Ambassador Rubio, for his part, thanked the Armenian President for the reception and congratulation, assuring that he will do his best to deepen the friendly relations between Armenia and Spain and make Armenia more known by its history and investment opportunities, encouraging the communication between the societies of the two countries and also contributing to the establishment of business ties and mutual communication in different spheres.

Apart from the Armenian-Spanish bilateral relations, at the meeting reference was also made to the Armenian-EU cooperation. In the context, Ambassador Rubio noted that EU active member Spain is ready to support Armenia in terms of its cooperation with the EU.

The interlocutors also exchanged views on the peaceful settlement process of the Karabakh conflict.