On February 16, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ara Aivazian had a meeting with Wendy Morton, the UK Minister for European Neighbourhood and the Americas of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the delegation she headed.

Welcoming the guests, Minister Aivazian noted that this visit is a good opportunity to touch upon the bilateral agenda and outline joint steps aimed at enriching it. “We highly value the cooperation established between Armenia and the United Kingdom, and we are confident that through our joint efforts we will be in a position to give a new impetus to the Armenian-British bilateral agenda.”

The interlocutors exchanged views on the prospects of expanding cooperation in the spheres of mutual interest, highlighting the following areas as the prior directions: information technologies, creative education, renewable energy, tourism.

In the course of the meeting the sides touched upon the issues of regional security and stability. In this regard Minister Aivazian noted: “The current situation in our region is a consequence of the use of force by Azerbaijan, with direct involvement of Turkey. As you rightly mentioned in your remarks at House of Commons on December 8, it cannot be considered as the solution of the conflict: only negotiated political settlement, that respects the rights of all, will pave the way to eliminate the causes and consequences of the war; can bring stability, lasting peace and eventually reconciliation to the South Caucasus region.

The settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is based on the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination. Azerbaijan’s attempt of violent repression of the right to self-determination, accompanied by war crimes, is not only a violation of human rights, but also a serious, ongoing threat to regional security.”

In the context of addressing the humanitarian issues resulting from the Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh, the Foreign Minister of Armenia drew the interlocutor's attention to Azerbaijan's policy of detaining Armenian prisoners of war, civilians, including women. Minister Aivazian noted that “this is a challenge not only for Armenia, but also for all those who genuinely and consistently stand for human rights protection in the international arena.”