1 / 9

On November 3, the Speaker of the RA National Assembly Galust Sahakyan received the Delegation led by the Speaker of the National Council of the Republic of Slovakia Andrej Danko.

Welcoming Andrej Danko, Galust Sahakyan noted that the visit of the Delegation will give new impetus to the development of the inter-state relations and the strengthening of the bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation.

In the context of the development of the parliamentary diplomacy Galust Sahakyan highlighted the formation of Slovakia-Armenia Friendship Group, which, according to him will boost the development of the parliamentary ties.

Highly assessing the recognition, condemnation of the Armenian Genocide by the National Council of the Republic of Slovakia and the criminalization of the genocides’ denial, Galust Sahakyan said: “The Armenian Genocide was not only a crime directed to the Armenian people, but also to the whole mankind and the recognition and condemnation of such crimes is important for their further prevention.”

Touching upon the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh problem, the Speaker of the National Assembly expressed his gratitude for the balanced position of Slovakia in that issue. He noted that Azerbaijan’s unleashed April aggression caused serious damage to the process of negotiations.

In the course of the meeting the sides also referred to the procedure of the negotiations over Armenia-EU new legal document. The Head of the Parliament expressed hope that the elaborated will become the best guarantee of the joint commitment in reaching Armenia-EU relations to a new level. Taking into consideration the fact that Slovakia this year assumed the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Galust Sahakyan has said that Armenia expects Slovakia’s support in the visa regime liberalization process.

Thanking for the reception, the Speaker of the National Council of the Republic of Slovakia Andrej Danko remembered with warmth his visit to Armenia last year, after which he advised his colleagues to visit the first country that adopted Christianity, Armenia, which is considered a buffer zone between the Christian and Muslim countries.

Talking about the recognition of the Genocide, Andrej Danko has reaffirmed that Slovakia condemns those, who perpetrated such crime against humanity and added: “Last year I felt your nation’s great pain, and I feel pain for the people, who died during the Armenian Genocide and, please accept our Delegation’s visit as respect to your ancestors’ memory.”

The interlocutors highlighted the efficient cooperation of the parliamentary delegations of the two countries at international platforms. The parties have underlined that wide opportunities exist for cooperation in different spheres, which will call upon as a result of joint efforts.

Andrej Danko left a note in the RA NA Book of Honourable Guests.

At the end of the meeting the RA NA Speaker Galust Sahakyan awarded Andrej Danko the RA National Assembly Medal of Honour for the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide and having great contribution to the strengthening of the Armenian-Slovakian inter-parliamentary ties.

Afterwards in the Alley of Memory, at the Parliament Park, they planted an evergreen fir tree symbolizing the two peoples’ friendship.