Armenian Foreign Minister and us secretary of state discuss Karabakh and bilateral relations

YEREVAN, February 6. /ARKA/. Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian met with US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton on the sidelines of the 48th Munich Security Conference February 3 to 4, Armenian foreign ministry said. 

It said they praised high-level friendly partnership between the two countries, the intensive political dialogue and regular contacts and also expressed willingness to continue to undertake efficient steps towards further strengthening and deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation.

Touching upon the 20th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries to be celebrated this year, Edward Nalbandian said thanks to joint efforts the partnership between Armenia and the United States has reached the highest level in the history of the Armenian-American relations. 

The parties discussed a wide range of issues related to bilateral relations, democratic reforms in Armenia and preparatory works of parliamentary elections to be held this year, as well as regional security-related issues. 

The sides touched upon the preparatory works of the Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Seoul next month and the cooperation being carried out in the frames of the Open Government Partnership initiative.

The interlocutors dwelt on the recent developments in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Edward Nalbandian stressed the importance of the US, as an OSCE Mink Group Co-chair country and briefed his American counterpart on the results of the meeting of the Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents held in Sochi on 23 January. 

Secretary Clinton reaffirmed the US position that the settlement of the issue is possible only through peaceful means. -0-