Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan on Thursday received US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia Lynne Tracy.

Greeting the Ambassador, Simonyan stated that Armenia has enhanced partnering and friendly relations with the United States since declaration of independence and highly appreciated the support that the US government has been providing to Armenia for strengthening of democracy, economic development and the reforms in various sectors for many years. The parliamentary speaker also informed that the National Assembly will set up the Armenia-US Parliamentary Friendship Group soon.

Touching upon the post-war situation, Simonyan stated that the immediate repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians from Azerbaijan remains the primary issue at this moment and emphasized that Azerbaijan’s destructive rhetoric can’t lead to a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He added that the conflict needs to be settled exclusively through negotiations, under the auspices of the Co-Chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group and based on implementation of the principles developed by the OSCE Minsk Group.

Expressing gratitude for the reception, Ambassador Tracy stated that the US government will continue to work closely with the Armenian authorities and expressed the US government’s commitment to implementing its activities within the scope of the OSCE Minsk Group.