Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, Alen Simonyan, on Tuesday received a delegation led by Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions of Belgium, Armenian News-NEWS.am learns from the NA.

Simonyan noted that the active cooperation between the parliaments of Armenia and Belgium is a key tool for the further development of relations between the two countries. Also, he considered the decision of the Belgian government to open an embassy in Yerevan as a fact of strong partnership. The parties lauded the bilateral and multilateral poles of the effective and constructive dialogue between Armenia and Belgium, emphasizing especially the framework of the Armenia-EU partnership.

The core of the meeting, however, was the dire situation in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the Lachin corridor crisis. The interlocutors agreed on the need for the reopening of this corridor as quickly as possible. The speaker of the NA of Armenia noted that he expects active steps from the Belgian partners regarding the safety of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. Also, he underscored the need to engage international mechanisms for a Karabakh-Azerbaijan dialogue and active discussions on the chances of imposing sanctions on Azerbaijan.