Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today received Minister of Defense and Armed Forces of the Czech Republic Lubomir Metnar.

To begin with, the Prime Minister noted that the Republic of Armenia and the Czech Republic are effectively cooperating in different fields of activity, including defense, and the relations between the two countries have great development potential. Nikol Pashinyan stressed that the Czech Republic is an important partner for Armenia. He noted that the ongoing high-level cooperation in both bilateral and multilateral formats fosters our interstate relations.

Thankful for the reception, the Czech Defense Minister said he was pleased with this first-ever visit to our country. Lubomir Metnar congratulated Nikol Pashinyan on the first anniversary of the Velvet Revolution and democratic changes in Armenia, noting that this year the Czech Republic is celebrating the 30th anniversary of their velvet revolution

Lubomir Metnar stressed that Armenia is an important partner for the Czech Republic in the South Caucasus, and his country is eager to expand bilateral relations in the fields of defense, trade and economy, information technologies and other spheres of mutual interest.

As they discussed issues related to the Armenian-Czech defense cooperation, the interlocutors made a point of ensuring stability and security in the region. Views were exchanged on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Nikol Pashinyan thanked the Czech Republic for its balanced position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, stressing that Armenia sees the settlement of the conflict exclusively through peaceful means in the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing format. In turn, Lubomir Metnar pointed out that the Czech Republic supports the peaceful settlement of the conflict and the efforts aimed at ensuring regional stability.

In conclusion, Nikol Pashinyan expressed his appreciation of the valuable contribution made by outgoing Czech Ambassador Petr Mikyska to the development of relations between the two countries.