Tripartite Cooperation Can Yield Significant Results: Pashinyan Hosts Greek President

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hosted Prokopios Pavlopoulos, the President of the Hellenic Republic, during his official visit to Armenia. According to the press office of the Prime Minister of Armenia, Pashinyan welcomed the Greek President at the government headquarters and expressed confidence that his visit would contribute to the development and expansion of Armenian-Greek fraternal ties.

“Mr. President, I fondly recall our meeting in China, in Beijing, at the Forum of Asian Civilizations, where we had a fruitful discussion about the relations between our countries and the bilateral agenda in general. The interstate and people-to-people relations between our countries are at a very high level, and I hope that we will be able to establish more effective economic cooperation against this favorable backdrop, as well as enhance the levels of collaboration in other fields and increase our results. I also fondly remember my meeting in September with Greece’s newly elected Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. We had the opportunity to discuss our relations and agree on our upcoming actions. In January, we look forward to our first summit in a tripartite framework of Armenia-Greece-Cyprus, which will take place in Yerevan. This is a very important event that will further enhance our relations.

I would like to emphasize that there is a special attitude toward Greece in Armenia, and our people warmly remember that Greece officially recognized the Armenian Genocide as far back as 1996. It is also worth noting that in 2015, the Armenian Parliament officially recognized the genocides of the Greeks and Assyrians. I believe this provides a foundation for us to seek cooperation paths regarding global security issues, because for us, recognition of genocides is not only an issue of acknowledging history but also an important effort aimed at global security and preventing genocides.

Once again, allow me to welcome you to the Republic of Armenia and express my satisfaction with the occasion of your visit. I am convinced this will infuse a new, better dynamic into our countries’ relations,” mentioned Prime Minister Pashinyan.

Prokopios Pavlopoulos thanked the Prime Minister for the warm reception, stating, “During our meeting in Beijing, I promised you that I would visit the Republic of Armenia within a year, and I am very glad to have fulfilled that promise. Secondly, I want to mention that I am pleased that Armenia participates in the forum of ancient civilizations, as that framework is very important. I hope that within that framework, Armenia will contribute to the cooperation aimed at strengthening civilizations. We especially welcome the efforts made by Armenia and the Armenian people towards the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. This is a very important step, and we express our support on this matter. On the other hand, I am very glad that in this struggle, Armenia has recognized the genocides of the Greeks and Assyrians. At the same time, we welcome and rejoice that recently the House of Representatives of the United States recognized the Armenian Genocide; that is very important. We do not do this for revenge; we do it so that such crimes and atrocities are never repeated.

I am very glad and welcome the tripartite cooperation existing between Armenia, Greece, and Cyprus. Meetings should take place at the level of foreign ministers, as well as at the level of the leaders of the countries. I am confident that cooperation in the tripartite format can not only bring benefits and be effective for each country but also enhance Armenia's cooperation with the European Union,” he added.

Afterward, the interlocutors addressed issues concerning both bilateral and multilateral cooperation, exchanging views on Armenia-European Union cooperation. Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasized the necessity for Greece to ratify the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement as soon as possible. The parties also exchanged views on regionally significant issues and highlighted the importance of tripartite cooperation among Armenia, Greece, and Cyprus in addressing challenges and defending common interests.

Prime Minister Pashinyan thanked Greece for its balanced position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and highly appreciated bilateral cooperation in the military sector, particularly the organization of training programs for Armenian officers in Greece. “Mr. President, we have every reason regarding the prospects for the development of our countries’ relations,” said Prime Minister Pashinyan. “I am confident that our tripartite cooperation format can yield significant results. I wish success and prosperity to the Armenian people,” noted the Greek President.