On June 26 the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Mr. Tigran Torosyan, vice presidents of the National Assembly Mr. Vahan Hovhannisyan and Mr. Ishkhan Zakaryan, the chairmen of the committees and heads of factions received the delegation headed by the President of the Republic of Greece Mr. Karolos Papoulias.

Welcoming the high rank guest and the delegation, the President of the National Assembly noted that the two countries are united by the long-standing friendship and the history of relations, which includes not only the common characteristics of civilization, but also wonderful relations with perspectives of development. The President of the National Assembly noted that the governments and parliaments of the two countries cooperate well and reconfirmed the invitation of the official visit to Armenia made to the President of the Parliament of Greece.

The President of the Republic of Greece Mr. Karolos Papoulias, who has already been to Armenia years before, mentioned the great changes and noted, that the two countries are united by historical and long-lasting relations. There are some realities in the history that the two nations cannot forget: realities that will always remind the importance of respecting the human rights and dignity. Mr. Papoulias estimated that today both nations fight for the resolution of the issues concerning the national and personal rights in conformity with international laws. The President of the Republic of Greece reminded, that nevertheless, there are some forces, that don’t learn from history and repeat the same tragic mistakes. “Our freedom-loving nations cannot tolerate neither the closing of the borders, nor the blockade of the country, and nor the 40 000 soldiers in Cyprus, a country which is a member of the European Union,” mentioned Mr. Papoulias, adding that this is the reason why the two countries fight for democratic freedoms and such a world, where the human rights are respected and where there is peace. The President of the Republic of Greece touched upon the deepening of cooperation between the two countries, mentioning all the preconditions that create the possibility to do so.

The President of the National Assembly reminded that the two countries are united by democratic values and by the steps taken towards the European integration. Stressing the importance of the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the NA President noted that sometimes there are attempts to oppose the issues of Cyprus and Nagorno Karabakh, but there is one common base – that is the longing of the two peoples of those parts to live in freedom. He expressed conviction that both the discussion and the resolution of the issues should be from the view of human rights respect. In the basic documents of all international organizations the right of the people to live freely and to be the master of their own destiny is one of the fundamental freedoms. Although not everybody realizes this and learns lessons from the history, Mr. Torosyan expressed confidence that both in the case of Cyprus and in the case of Nagorno Karabakh the aspirations for freedom will succeed based on the fundamental right of human freedoms.