At the beginning of the meeting Edward Nalbandian said Armenia attaches importance to multifaceted relations with the United States and will pursue the development and reinforcement of friendly partnership relations and deepening of cooperation between the two countries.

The heads of foreign agencies of Armenia and the United States noted that the history and traditions of Armenian-American relations, the existing contractual-legal field, demonstration of political will in the direction of expansion of cooperation provide an opportunity to develop the bilateral relations in different spheres.

The interloccxutors discussed the latest developments in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. In this regard it was noted that the issue can be solved exceptionally in through peaceful talks under way within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group. The parties appreciated the efforts of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs and stressed the importance of continuing the negotiations on the basis of the Madrid proposals, which create an opportunity to register progress in the peace process.

Turning to the perspectives of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, Minister Nalbandian reconfirmed the willingness of Armenia to establish diplomatic relations and open the Armenian-Turkish border without any preconditions and presented the steps Armenia takes in this direction.

The interlocutors turned to the process of confirmation of the new US Ambassador designate to Armenia by the Senate. In this regard, Minister Nalbandian expressed hope that the Ambassador will soon be confirmed and the will arrive in Armenia, which will have a positive influence on the further reinforcement of bilateral relations.

Following the meeting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian signed on July 14, 2008, the “Joint Action Plan between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Armenia on Combating Smuggling of Nuclear and Radioactive Materials.”

This political agreement expresses the intention of the two governments to cooperate to increase the capabilities of the Republic of Armenia to prevent, detect, and respond effectively to attempts to smuggle nuclear or radioactive materials. With this agreement, the U.S. and Armenian governments are significantly enhancing their collaborative efforts to combat the threat that nuclear or highly radioactive materials could be acquired by terrorists.

This is the fifth agreement of this nature that has been concluded by the U.S. government’s Nuclear Smuggling Outreach Initiative. Previous agreements were completed with Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and the Kyrgyz Republic. To date, eight countries and three international organizations have partnered with the U.S. government to provide assistance to support implementation of these agreements.

Source: Reprinted from Public Radio of Armenia