Azerbaijan continues to hold Armenian prisoners of war and civilians as hostages, which is a gross violation of international humanitarian law, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said at the meeting with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias.
Ararat Mirzoyan expressed gratitude for the warm reception and underlined that his visit reflects the fraternal nature of the relations between the two peoples and the high level of interstate relations.
The Foreign Ministers expressed satisfaction with the intensive political dialogue and effective cooperation between Armenia and Greece and expressed readiness to deepen the existing cooperation. The sides touched upon the perspectives of development of bilateral relations in a number of strategic directions.
Ararat Mirzoyan and Nikos Dendias exchanged views on the prospects of further expanding the cooperation in trade, economic, high technology, military, cultural, scientific, tourism and other spheres and outlined the steps to be undertaken in this direction.
Touching upon the Armenia-Greece-Cyprus trilateral cooperation, the Ministers expressed confidence that the continuation of contacts and implementation of joint projects in this format will best serve the interests of the two sides.
The sides discussed the possibilities for the activation of cooperation in the sphere of regional transport infrastructure, in particular the creation of the International Transport Corridor Persian Gulf - Black Sea. The political will to take concrete steps to complete this process was noted.
The sides discussed the possibilities to strengthen cooperation in multilateral international organizations, including UNESCO.
The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Greece touched upon a number of issues related to the Armenia-EU partnership and the Eastern Partnership program.
The Armenian side highly assessed the support of the Greek side to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, underlining that Armenia continues its consistent efforts to promote the international agenda for the prevention of genocides.
During the meeting the sides also touched upon issues related to regional security and stability. Mirzoyan presented his counterpart the situation around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the Armenian side's position on the processes aimed at establishing peace and stability in the region and the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Mirzoyan underscored the key role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in advancing the peace process aimed at the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and highly appreciated Greece's position.
Touching upon the humanitarian problems that emerged as a result of Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh. Mirzoyan also thanked the Greek government for providing humanitarian assistance.
The Foreign Minister deemed unacceptable the Azerbaijani authorities' bellicose and provocative rhetoric and actions against Armenia and Artsakh, highlighting the fact that Azerbaijan continues to hold Armenian prisoners of war and civilians hostage, which is a gross violation of international humanitarian law.
He highlighted the need to prevent Azerbaijan's consistent policy of distorting and destroying the identity of Armenian historical and cultural heritage in the territories under Azerbaijani control as a result of the 44-day war. Ararat Mirzoyan noted the relevance of involving relevant international organizations in Nagorno Karabakh, especially the unhindered implementation of UNESCO fact-finding mission.
During the meeting, the sides also touched upon the latest developments in the process of the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.
At the end of the meeting, the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Greece attended the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in EU issues between the MFAs of the two countries.
The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Greece made press statements following the meeting.