OREANDA-NEWS. January 18, 2011. The President of the Republic of Cyprus and President of the Republic of Armenia, upon completion of top-level talks in the framework of the state visit of President Serzh Sargsyan to the Republic of Cyprus that took place on January 17, in Nicosia,

Mindful of the deeply rooted and brotherly relationship that Cyprus and Armenia have shared throughout their history, their rich cultural heritage and the solidarity amongst the Cypriot and the Armenian peoples,

Guided by universally recognized principles and norms of international law, and in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations Organization, and effective international treaties to which both states are parties,

Reaffirming that the Cypriot- Armenian cooperation will continue to be based on mutual trust, respect of political independence, sovereignty and non interference in internal affairs, and equality,

Aiming at bringing bilateral relations to a new qualitative level of comprehensive interaction,

Taking note of the progress in implementation of the agreements reached during the state visit of the President of the Republic of Cyprus to Armenia in July 2009,

Declare as follows:

I. Political Relations

The Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Armenia, which are long bound by the profound friendly relations, note with satisfaction the progressive development and broadening of political, relations, shall intensify their political contacts and cooperation at all levels, both on bilateral basis and within the United Nations Organization as well as in other international organizations,

In this respect the Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Armenia state their willingness to consider favorably and on reciprocal basis candidatures of each other at the elections to various international organizations,

The Sides reaffirm their commitment to the United Nations and its role in maintaining peace and security, as well as the purposes and principles of the UN Charter,

The Sides underline the necessity of establishing and developing normal relations between neighboring states without any preconditions on the basis of mutual respect and understanding and in abidance of international law,

The Republic of Armenia expresses its support to the efforts to solve the Cyprus problem on the basis of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality as described in the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions,

The Republic of Armenia also welcomes the ongoing negotiations under the Good Offices Mission of the UN Secretary- General, and shares the expectations of the international community that an agreed, durable, just, viable and mutually acceptable settlement of the Cyprus problem will be achieved, on the basis of International Law, the UN Charter and relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, the High Level Agreements of 1977 and 1979, and the EU founding principles, as well as on the respect of human rights, 
The Republic of Armenia appreciates the creative approach and the initiatives undertaken by the Republic of Cyprus for the resolution of the Cyprus problem and regrets that the Turkish side is not duly responding to these steps,

The Republic of Cyprus expresses its support to the efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group process and stresses that the conflict should be resolved by peaceful means, without resorting to the use of force and through negotiations based on the principles and norms of international law,

The Republic of Cyprus expresses its support to the constructive efforts of the Republic of Armenia to resolve Nagorno Karabakh conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group process through negotiations based on the principles of the United Nations Charter and the Helsinki Final act and the elements proposed by the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, which include, inter alia, the determination of the final status of Nagorno Karabakh through legally binding expression of will,

The Sides express their readiness to reinforce and broaden cooperation within the framework of European Union initiatives, including the Eastern Partnership,

The Republic of Cyprus will continue to contribute to the further strengthening of the political dialogue and cooperation between the Republic of Armenia and the European Union,

The Republic of Cyprus also welcomes the launch and progress on the future Association Agreement of the EU with Armenia and hopes that these will continue to progress swiftly,

The Republic of Cyprus hails the efforts, especially of Armenia, to initiate and proceed with the process for the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey, but regrets that the ratification of the two protocols on the establishment of diplomatic relations and the development of relations between Armenia and Turkey signed in 2009, has come to a halt because of Turkish preconditions.

II. Economic Relations

The Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Armenia underscore the importance of expanding their economic co-operation. At the same time the Sides agreed that additional conditions can be created to fully utilize the potential of trade and economic relations,

The Sides will render all possible assistance to companies from the Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Armenia in the Cypriot and Armenian markets, respectively,

The Sides attach special importance to the activities of the Cypriot-Armenia Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Industrial and Technological Cooperation, which met for the first time in Yerevan on 14 January 2011,

The Sides shall take necessary steps to effectively use the mechanisms of the Commission, with a view to further promote the development of bilateral trade and economic ties,

The Sides point out the necessity to expand the practice of establishment of joint ventures and companies in various fields in accordance with the new economic realities and international standards of attraction of mutual investments.

III. Military - Technical Cooperation

The Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Armenia intend to strengthen their cooperation in the military and technical field as subscribed in the relevant Agreement and Protocol signed in 2002 and 2010 respectively,

The sides also consider it important to maintain regular contacts between the Ministries of Defense of the two States.

IV. Cooperation in other Fields

The Sides confirm that the development of bilateral cooperation in the humanitarian field has a strong foundation with regard to historic, cultural and religious closeness of the peoples of two States,

In this respect the Sides acknowledge the contribution of the very successful and vibrant Armenian Community in Cyprus, which serves as a vivid connecting link between the two countries and peoples,

The Sides express interest in expanding and improving the legal framework of cultural and humanitarian cooperation, interaction in the field of science and joint research, healthcare and other spheres,

The Sides will further assist to the organization of mutual visits of delegations of cultural and artistic groups as an important form of communication and mutual spiritual enrichment of the peoples of the two States,

The Sides shall actively assist the preservation of cultural identities of both peoples and make efforts to provide favorable conditions for the promotion of the Greek and Armenian languages, via promoting increased cooperation between the State educational and Academic Institutions of the two countries,

The Sides pledged to further promote people-to-people contacts, including within the framework of the Eastern Partnership. The Republic of Cyprus will support efforts of Armenia to sign visa facilitation and readmission agreements with the EU as soon as possible,

The Sides also stress the importance of sharing experiences and continuing to deepening relations in the sphere of tourism, public administration and communications,

Through the provisions stated herein the Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Armenia state their determination to bring the existing brotherly relations of mutual trust and respect to a new qualitative level for the benefit of their peoples,

To this end, the Sides will, in the nearest future, undertake practical steps for effective implementation of the abovementioned references.