YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, who is in Bulgaria on an official visit, met with members of the Bulgaria-Armenia Friendship Group in the National Assembly of that country, the foreign ministry reported.

The Armenian FM and the head of the Bulgaria-Armenia Friendship Group Atanas Zafirov agreed that during those years the two countries have established a productive and mutually beneficial partnership in both bilateral and multilateral formats, based on the historic ties, mutual sympathy and trust between the two nations. They highlighted the major role played by the Armenian community in strengthening the Armenian-Bulgarian ties.

The sides also touched upon the parliamentary diplomacy as a key direction for developing the relations between Armenia and Bulgaria.

They exchanged ideas about the opportunities to boost the cooperation between Armenia and Bulgaria in commercial, tourism, educational and cultural sectors, for which there is a rich legal-contractual base involving more than 60 documents.

Minister Mirzoyan also introduced his colleagues on the current situation around the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, as well as the latest developments aimed at establishing peace and stability in the region. The sides agreed that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict must be solved comprehensively under and within the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, through peaceful negotiations.

The Armenian FM also presented the current humanitarian problems following the 2020 war, particularly, the urgency of the return of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives from Azerbaijan and the necessity of the preservation of the Armenian historical and cultural heritage in the territories under the Azerbaijani control.