OREANDA-NEWS. April 04, 2012. President Serzh Sargsyan received today the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis who has arrived to Armenia on official visit.

 Welcoming the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, President Serzh Sargsyan stressed the importance of the reciprocal high-level visits for the strengthening of the bilateral relations. The President of Armenia noted that he recalls with great pleasure his last year state visit to Cyprus, as well as his working visits and meetings and substantial discussions held in the framework of those visits with President Demetris Christofias. “We view Cyprus as a friendly nation, and Cypriots – as our brothers. It is a historically shaped attitude, based on which today we deepen our bilateral relations. Armenia is keenly interested in strengthening these relations day by day. Just as in the past, today too our interests are plenty and there is a great work ahead of us. We are ready to do that work,” President Sargsyan said.

 The President of Armenia and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus underscored that the centuries-long friendship of the Armenian and Cypriot peoples is anchored in the numerous similarities, “This is my first visit to Armenia, and I am immensely impressed. Beside the meetings that I have already had, I also visited the Genocide Memorial. I am touched with everything I’ve seen and heard. Both our nations in their history went through great tragedies and calamities,” Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis said and underscored that everything must be done so that the crime of genocide perpetrated against the Armenian nation is internationally recognized.

 Serzh Sargsyan thanked the friendly people of Cyprus and authorities of the country for their warm and considerate attitude toward the Armenian-Cypriot community.

 At the meeting, President Serzh Sargsyan and the Foreign Minister of Cyprus stressed also the importance of bilateral cooperation in the framework of European structures.