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On July 20, the Head of the RA NA Friendship Group Armenia-USA Samvel Nikoyan, the Member of the Group Armen Rustamyan and the NA deputy Aghvan Vardanyan met with the Member of the U.S. House of Representatives of Congress Jim Costa. The RA Honorary Consul in Fresno Berj Apkarian accompanied the guest.

Welcoming Mr Costa’s visit to Armenia, Samvel Nikoyan has expressed conviction that there is necessity for activation of bilateral ties at parliamentary level and in this context has highlighted mutual visits. Jim Costa has noted that within the limits of possibilities he will support the activation of bilateral ties and the implementation of the mutual visits.

In the course of the meeting the sides touched upon the regional challenges. Samvel Nikoyan considered necessary the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement by using the efforts of all Co-Chair countries. He has underlined that Turkey always supports Azerbaijan in political, economic and military ways.

Speaking about the situation created as a consequence of the Syrian crisis, Mr Nikoyan noted since the beginning of the conflict Armenia had received numerous refugees and had taken care of them.

Armen Rustamyan and Aghvan Vardanyan presented details about the created situation in Nagorno Karabakh problem settlement and talked about Azerbaijan’s non-constructive position. The full participation of Artsakh in the negotiation process was highlighted.

The U.S. Congressman has noted that he has been raised in the city of Fresno populated by many Armenians and has many Armenian friends. He has underlined that he has close relations with the Armenian community of California, which has a great role in the public-political life of the state.

During the meeting the interlocutors exchanged thoughts over many issues regarding the further enlivening of the Armenian-American relations and the foreign policy.