YEREVAN. – Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan’s official visit to Latvia kicked off Tuesday with a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Artis Pabriks, in Riga.

The interlocutors positively assessed the dynamically developing Armenian-Latvian relations, and reaffirmed their mutual readiness to make efforts to fully realize the still untapped potential of cooperation and to further expand their bilateral agenda, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. The parties noted that Armenian-Latvian relations are based on mutual respect and understanding, and they outlined the steps to be taken to intensify their discourse.

Referring to Armenia-Latvia cooperation in the defense sector, Mnatsakanyan noted that there is an agenda of effective cooperation, both with NATO and its member countries. Also, Armenian peacekeepers’ participation in Afghanistan and Kosovo was lauded. Furthermore, the FM reaffirmed Armenia’s readiness to expand its contribution to the international efforts to maintain peace and humanitarian action.

At the request of the Latvian deputy PM and defense minister, Mnatsakanyan presented the foreign policy priorities of Armenia and its position on several matters that are on the regional agenda.

And touching upon the process toward a pacific settlement of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) conflict, Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan presented the respective outlook and position by the Armenian side, and stressed the importance of the creation and strengthening of a climate that is conducive to peace.