YEREVAN. – Raffi Hovannisian, Armenia's first minister of foreign affairs and co-founder of the Heritage Party, on Wednesday took part by videoconference in the 7th European People's Party Eastern Partnership Leaders' Meeting, Heritage Party Press Service informed.

Chaired by EPP president Donald Tusk, the assembly comprised leaders of sister parties from the European Union as well as European partner countries, including European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the prime ministers of Latvia and Croatia, and Eastern Partnership invitees from Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The Republican Party of Armenia was represented by its chairman Serzh Sargsyan.

During the meeting Raffi Hovannisian, representing Heritage, took the floor to discuss the strengthening of cooperation in the security and good-governance dimensions between the EU and its partners to the east; Armenia's current political situation; and the geopolitical challenges for the region,

Against this background, Hovannisian called for a more prudent, objective, and rights-based European approach to the Mountainous Karabagh (Artsakh) conflict and underscored the need to forge a peaceful and equitable solution based on Artsakh's self-determination, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and international recognition.