The first official meeting of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and French Foreign Minister, Minister of European Affairs Bernard Kouchner took place on May 5 in Paris. During the meeting the ministers discussed bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

The Ministers praised the current level of bilateral relationship, which is a solid basis for further development of the interstate cooperation in all areas. The two agreed to deepen cooperation in bilateral, European and international formats.

Edward Nalbandian presented to Bernard Kouchner policy priorities of the Armenian Governmental coalition, formed after presidential elections, as well as Armenia’s position on the regional security, the resolution of existing conflicts and the development of the cooperation. In this context, a special attention was paid to the Nagorno Karabakh problem settlement process and its perspectives. Minister Nalbandian reiterated Armenia’s willingness to continue the negotiations on the basis of the proposals of the OSCE Minsk group Co-chairs and appreciated their efforts in this process.  
Armenian and French Foreign Ministers also discussed Armenia’s relations with the European Union in the context of French Presidency of EU in the second half of this year.

At the end of the meeting Minister Nalbandian invited Minister Kouchner to visit Yerevan. The invitation was accepted.

Right after the meeting a press conference was held in French Foreign Ministry. Answering to the questions of the journalists the Armenian Minister confirmed Armenia’s willingness towards the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh problem and stated,” Today there is a strong need of establishment of  mutual trust between the sides and creation of a constructive atmosphere for the negotiations. Today there is a strong need to confirm that there is no alternative to peaceful and negotiated resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. Tomorrow I will meet my Azerbaijani colleague in Strasburg and I hope to continue the constructive dialogue to find ways of solution to the problem with the help of the mediators”.

Commenting on Armenian-Turkish relations, Minister Nalbandian stated that the present generation of the two nations has a heavy heritage from the past, and in order to turn over that black page  the political leaders should take joint steps. ”Armenia is ready to establish relations without any precondition, This will beneficial for the whole region and our peoples”, stated Mr. Nalbandian.

In the evening of the same day Edward Nalbandian left for Strasburg to take part in the 118th session of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers.

Later today in Strasbourg Minister Nalbandian will meet Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk group.