President of Armenia and Chairman of Italian Senate discussed  prospects for cooperation

ArmInfo.On April 5, President Serzh Sargsyan, who is on a working visit to the Italian Republic, met with the President of the Senate of Italy, Maria Elizabetta Casellati.

According to the press service of the President, Sargsyan  congratulated her on his election to the high office of the Chairman  of the Senate and expressed the hope that the inter-parliamentary  ties that have long been on the agenda of friendly Armenian-Italian  relations will continue to expand and strengthen due to the personal  efforts of Kazelatti. Serzh Sargsyan stressed the important role of  the legislative bodies in the development of interstate relations,  the formation of an atmosphere of mutual trust and mutual  understanding and noted that Armenia is interested in establishing  the closest links between the parliaments of the two countries and  developing relations also within the framework of interparliamentary  assemblies, which, according to the President, will allow Armenia and  Italy to give each other comprehensive support in important matters.  During the meeting, President Serzh Sargsyan also expressed gratitude  and highly appreciated the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by  the Italian Parliament. Stressing that the basis of special  Armenian-Italian relations is the close historical contacts of the  two friendly nations and common Christian values.

President Sargsyan noted with satisfaction that the Armenian-Italian  intergovernmental relations have developed over the past  quarter-century in the spirit of partnership and mutual trust, and  today the two countries have significant cooperation in the economic,  defense, interparliamentary, decentralized and humanitarian spheres.  Another important example of mutual respect and trust between Armenia  and Italy, according to the President of the Republic, is the  effective service of the Armenian military under the auspices of the  Italian command in the UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon.

The interlocutors touched upon the Armenia-European Union relations  and cooperation, which is one of the most important directions of the  Armenian-Italian cooperation agenda. President Sargsyan and Senate  Speaker Casellati exchanged views on the negotiation process for a  peaceful settlement of the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict.